Darkest Mercy
by Shaylynne
Summary: Percy Jackson is dead. Luke has destroyed Kronos - and only Kronos. He himself is alive, and he's determined to finish the Great Prophecy - which means Thalia Grace is Luke Castellan's next target.
1. Chapter One

**_It's not good being a demigod these days. Trust me._**

"Then perhaps only you can open it, because nobody else was supporting the Greek gods."

**_Normally, it's only insanity_**

"You lie."

"I didn't do anything! It fell from the sky!" Rachel defended herself.

"This bottle contains immortal liquid. You will not turn sixteen unless you wish it to be."

"Did you forget I could read minds?"

**_But… now we've just lost a war._**

"Thalia, _come on_! It's too late! Let's go!"

"_We lost_."

"I should have known."

"You're not going to die. You're going to be captured... by a certain somebody."

"Who-_ oh_." Thalia covered her mouth. "That's worse."

"Yeah, _him_. The mission will fail, and Jason, Nico, Lacy will escape and kill fifty enemy demigods and monsters. Jason will destroy like, half the amount of weapons. Meanwhile, you will be captured by Luke and… um, you don't want know. " Rachel rubbed her eyes wearily.

"I don't think I do," Thalia muttered, her heart sinking. "I bet whatever you saw was way over PG 13."

"Ugh, gross, sister," Jason said, crossing his arms in disgust.

Thalia's eyes widened. "Not_ that_ kind, Jason."

Somebody snickered.

**_We're not sure if there's any hope left_**

"Some half-bloods are still living."

"He's barely alive."

"Is there any hope for the world?"

"If there's going to be a rebellion, we should start from there."

"Okay!" Travis yelled. "Katie, Miranda, Pollux, get Scylla; Lou, Chris, Connor, Clovis and I will take on Procrustes; Hephaestus cabin- to Talos! Go with the flow!"

_Ten seconds later_

"NOOO! WAIT! I TAKE THAT BACK! DON'T GO WITH THE FLOW!" Travis screamed as Procrustes grabbed his neck and yanked.

**_But the ways we go to surviving are extreme_**

"May we take your car, please?"

"Does anyone _know_ how to drive a car?"

"We just walk right into the enemy's lair and say "Hey, can we please look through your stuff because we want to find a weapon that can raise the dead?". It's easy, simple and foolproof," Lacy answered.

**_There will be humor_**

"You okay?"

"No."

"How do you feel, daughter of Zeus?" Luke asked her.

"Like punching you in face," she spat.

_"Dear Father, if you don't strike Luke with a lightning bolt RIGHT NOW then I will personally come up to Mount Othrys to kick your skinny little butt. From: Your daughter."_

That was an empty threat, and Luke seemed amused by it. "What are you going to do to hurt me?"

"Punch you in the face then throw you off this building," she said bitterly. "What else?"

**_Death_**

"Do you see any demigods _alive_?"

"No."

"If you give me the keys, Jason can be resurrected."

**_Tears_**

Thalia buried her face in her hands, refusing to let anyone see her shed tears.

"Luke, please, don't do this," she said, her voice cracking.

"Just don't hurt him, _please_," she yelled, tears now streaming down her face, gushing in rivers. "_Don't hurt him_."

**_I'm not sure about this, but maybe even romance._**

Suddenly, the son of Hermes was curling Thalia's longish black hair on his finger casually. "Luke, you might want to stop sucking face with Thalia and come here."

Thalia's eyes widened and she spat out a stream of swear words at Ethan that would have made Artemis proud.

"This is so, totally gross, but I think that there's something between you and Luke."

Thalia's eyes flew open. "WHAT?"

"This is the key to your prophecy. Don't ever fall in love with him, Hunter of Artemis. If you do, you'll be mortal again, and you'll turn sixteen."

Thalia's heart sank. "You will tell me if I did, right?"

Piper looked away from the daughter of Zeus. "Of course I'll tell you." Then, the girl walked away.

Five seconds later, she returned. "Thalia?"

"Yeah?"

"You're mortal."

**_Luke starts to invade my dreams_**

"Hello, Thalia."

"I'm dreaming."

**_And acquires a new weapon to use against me_**

"His last name is Grace."  
>"You're lying."<p>

"Give me Pandora's Box," Luke said quietly. "Summon it."

"Why?"

"Because then I'll make Jason do it."

_Tell Luke to kill me and make it quick._

**_Now, the decision I'll make will change our lives… _****forever_._**

Rachel caressed the lid gently. "I can see Elpis inside the box. The Spirit… it's so fragile…"

"I kidnapped you for a reason, you know that, daughter of Zeus?"

She didn't respond.

"I need you to summon Pandora's Box."

Thalia's head jerked up. "What? How did you-"

"I told you I would be tracking you. Where is Pandora's Box?" Luke flicked Thalia's silver bracelet in the air. Her eyes followed his every movement.

Thalia didn't blink. "What do you have to force me into it?"

"_Summon it_," Luke ordered, an icy cold finger tracing the shape of her lips.

"I can't do it," she whispered. "I just- I just can't, Luke. You need to understand this," she said, breathing deeply.

Thalia shook her head, tears dripping onto the table. Her hands reached out to touch the lid of the Box. Thalia felt the power she welded. If she opened the Box, she'll die. If she didn't open the Box, she'll die. It was just the way she preferred: Painfully or quickly.

"Thalia…" Jason choked out, and his sister's face snapped up to him. "No."

Ethan struck him in the face and injected another needle into his bleeding arm, and Jason cried out in pain.

Thalia took a deep breath and hesitated, knowing that the sentence that she will say next will change her life.

**_But I'm alone. And Luke tortures me every day, using unusual procedures_**

The girl tried to speak, but she failed. That was when she noticed that her hands were bounded to a wooden chair, and a cloth sprayed with perfume was covering her mouth. The scent was overpowering, and it made Thalia slightly dizzy. She tried to take the cloth off by rubbing it on her shoulder, but Luke walked towards her and slid it off, his fingers brushing her face casually. The girl gasped for air.

"It's good to see you again," Luke said, his hand still on her cheek. "I told you. You should have joined me."

Thalia shook her head, still taking deep breaths.

"Peace offering?"

"You call that a… a peace offering?"

"We'll see how you think later, okay?" he murmured, placing a cold finger on her lips. Thalia wanted to punch him in the stomach, or better, in the face, but she was frozen by the hard, metal cuffs or something else much more complicated.

Thalia stared at Luke furiously. "_You'll pay for this_."

Luke touched her face. "I won't. And you know it."

**_Right now, I'm actually beginning to consider that I might be changing from good_**

"Are you alright?" Thalia asked, picking up the whimpering ball of demigod and setting her down in the corner of the room. "I'll call the medic, okay? What's your name?"

The little girl clutched her ribs. "Lacy, daughter of Aphrodite," she choked out. "Ten years old."

_That explains it_, Thalia thought. "Hang in there. I'll get an Apollo camper."

"I- I think my ribs are cracked," Lacy said softly. "Could you- could you get Piper over-?"

Thalia nodded, shooting a worried glance at the girl. "Okay."

Thalia looked at him with a hard gaze. "You are putting the weakest and the strongest together in a group to battle Ethan Nakamura and Luke Castellan. Lacy is _ten years old_. Do you think she deserves death before her life even truly started?"

**_To bad_**

"Yes," Thalia agreed. "So that monsters can creep up to you and slit your throat."

"No," Thalia said, gritting her teeth. "I want you to say that you tortured them until they begged for mercy."

Thalia blasted another building down with her lightning impatiently. "Luke, it's done. Can I go to lunch?" she demanded.


	2. Chapter Two

**KATHERINE: Angel, report.  
>ANGELIQUE: Currently writing files on <strong>**p****erfect Sues, as DABOSS ordered.  
>KATHERINE: Good. Lucy, come in.<br>LUCIANA: … *static* …  
>KATHERINE: Lucy, do you copy?<br>LUCIANA: … *static* …  
>ANGELIQUE: I told you that this wouldn't work.<br>KATHERINE: *looks at Angelique* I thought the walkie-talkies thing was cool. Anyway – do you know where Dakota and Lucy are?  
>ANGELIQUE: … In Lucy's room.<br>KATHERINE: What the f*ck is Dakota doing in Lucy's room?  
>ANGELIQUE: … wooing her?<strong>

_I will survive. As long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive._

**-Thalia Grace**

Thalia Grace struggled fiercely underneath the block of heavy stone, and after a while, she was released from Hera's statue. After applying nectar onto her ankle, she felt much better.

_Ten minutes later_

"Thalia!" Nico di Angelo yelled out loudly.

The girl didn't hear his call.

"Thalia, _come on_! It's too late! Let's go!" Nico ran towards the daughter of Zeus.

She continued to slash furiously at the _dracaenae_.

"THALIA!" Nico repeated, grabbing her shoulders.

Startled, Thalia spun around to face the eleven year old, thrusting her spear through the monsters.

"Yes, Nico?" she asked immediately.

"_We lost_," Nico said, closing his eyes for a moment.

The two words echoed around in her mind. _We lost_. They couldn't have, after sacrificing so much. Suddenly, nothing seemed real. Percy had failed to destroy Kronos, and now he'd risen. She sat down hard.

"No. You're lying," she said, almost defiantly, looking up to the son of Hades.

Nico gestured around the girl. "Do you see any demigods _alive_?"

That seemed to wake Thalia up. "Oh, _Zeus_, my huntresses-"

"They've disappeared. The gods are now banished to Tartarus. Some of them are carrying the burden of the sky- I just saw them. The monsters are now using the Underworld as a beast camp."

A tear slipped down Thalia's face. "But- but- I- I'm still a huntress." She glanced at the silver aura around her.

Nico shrugged, an uncaring expression on his face. "Maybe the Hunt still exists. But I don't know."

"I'll- I'll go look for survivors." But the girl knew she wouldn't find anything, and the expression on her face made it clear to Nico.

"Hold on-" Nico frowned slightly. "Some half-bloods are still living. Follow me."

Thalia walked behind the boy, occasionally glancing down at the bodies and blood, swallowing hard as she saw familiar faces among them.

"There! Clarisse!" Nico pointed, and sure enough, the daughter of Ares was shakily rising from the destruction.

"Clarisse!" Thalia ran over to the girl, carefully avoiding the bodies of the dead.

She had multiple scratches and a whole lot of blood on her face, but at least Clarisse La Rue was in better condition than Thalia. Clarisse was also shivering slightly, her clothes damp and cold.

"You okay?" Thalia asked uncomfortably, not used to those words.

"No," Clarisse said through gritted teeth. "But I can cope. Grab the other survivors and let's get the Hades out of here."

"Malcolm," Nico nudged Thalia's arm, looking towards the direction of Central Park.

"He's barely alive," she whispered, but delight ran through her veins. "Clarisse, take him into the sidewalk. Nico and I will meet you there after we gather up the other survivors."

_One hour later_

In the end, the group consisted of Chris Rodriguez, Clarisse La Rue, Connor Stoll, Jake Mason, Katie Gardener, Malcolm, Nico di Angelo, Pollux, Thalia Grace and Will Solace. Pollux had a broken arm, but that wasn't always unusual for demigods.

"What do we do now?" Chris asked, fixing up a particularly large wound by adding a few precious drops of nectar.

"We need to get away from here first," Nico said, his eyes focusing on the dead bodies, making them vanish into the air. "Luke would be destroying Manhattan in a few days. The start of a new Golden Age…" his eyes glazed over in sadness.

A girl suddenly ran out of a building, a horrified look on her face, and the demigods drew their swords.

"A mortal," Thalia murmured, her eyes widening. "That girl who can see through the Mist better than any demigod. She might be useful, and we do not want her to be captured by Luke and his men. Chris, Clarisse, Connor, go fetch her, please."

They returned with Rachel Elizabeth Dare, her wild red hair swaying in the soft wind.

"We lost, didn't we?" she asked quietly.

The silence answered her question, and Rachel sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"I should have known. Is there any hope for the world?" Rachel didn't sound confident.

"We don't know." Thalia might as well say that the earth had ended.

"Let's shadow travel away from here first," Nico drew lines in the dirt.

"But, the question is, where to?" Thalia murmured quietly.

"San Francisco," Rachel smiled, but it wasn't a happy one.

"Are you crazy?" Eleven voices replied to her suggestion.

"If there's going to be a rebellion, we should start from there," Rachel said firmly, though she sounded like she was leading the demigods to death.

**ANGELIQUE: Hey, LT.  
>DAKOTA: Hey, Angel.<br>ANGELIQUE: I thought you were going out with Lucy.  
>DAKOTA: We were doing an experiment on the Luke and Thalia shipping.<br>ANGELIQUE: I love that shipping – wait, that unbolded part four lines above is the experiment?  
>DAKOTA: Yup. What do you think?<br>ANGELIQUE: It's okay. Though my ****mouse**** is running out of power.  
>DAKOTA: Reviews power up <strong>**our mice****!  
>ANGELIQUE: I thought your <strong>**gadget**** was already charged.  
>DAKOTA: *<strong>**toys with his mouse***** Course, from the other Fanfictions DABOSS wrote.**** *pulls mouse tail*****  
>ANGELIQUE: F*CK<strong>**!**


	3. Chapter Three

**LUCIANA: Where are Angel and Dakota?  
>KATHERINE: Angel got kidnapped.<br>LUCIANA: And Dakota?  
>KATHERINE: He's in Las Vegas.<br>LUCIANA: Alone? But that's dangerous! Thousands of Evil Sues and Tragic Sues live there!  
>KATHERINE: Of course LT didn't go alone; he went with Angel.<br>LUCIANA: But she got kidnapped.  
>KATHERINE: Exactly. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.<strong>

_I believe that dreams are sacred; take your darkest fears and play them like a lullaby._

**-Thalia Grace**

The group settled down in the forest after five hours of walking. They had found a clearing and a small river running through it. A chilly breeze signaled that autumn had arrived as the demigods and Rachel sat down and fixed their wounds. They felt considerably better after thirty minutes of regrouping.

"So, I think we should decide on a leader," Connor said, after sipping some water from the stream. "Or maybe decide on two leaders."

"Okay, so let's do a vote," Thalia began, but Jake cut her off by giving her a look.

"It's obvious who should be leader and who should be co leader."

Thalia smiled cheerfully. "Thanks."

After a while, the demigods went into an uncomfortable silence. Then Connor yawned.

"You all should get some sleep," Nico said. "Rest is crucial."

"Yes," Thalia agreed. "So that monsters can creep up to you and slit your throat when you're snoring and dreaming about rainbows and ponies."

If looks could kill, Thalia would be dead and gone by the look Nico gave her.

"Right," Thalia said hastily, taking a breath of cold night air. "Nico and I will take watch. You guys, rest, okay?"

_Three hours later_

Thalia started dreaming right after she fell asleep.

"Hello, Thalia," Luke Castellan said, his emerald green eyes cold and calculating, standing about three feet away from her. His scar that was supposed to be on his cheek wasn't there.

Wait a moment. _Green_ eyes?

The girl tried to speak, but she failed. That was when she noticed that her hands were bounded to a wooden chair, and a cloth sprayed with perfume was covering her mouth. The scent was overpowering, and it made Thalia slightly dizzy. She tried to take the cloth off by rubbing it on her shoulder, but Luke walked towards her and slid it off, his fingers brushing her face casually. The girl gasped for air.

"It's good to see you again," Luke said, his hand still on her cheek. "I told you. You should have joined me."

Thalia shook her head, still taking deep breaths. "You're wrong," she decided after a long moment. "I- I don't think I would have liked killing demigods and sentencing people to death."

Luke smiled. "Do you want to know what happened up at Olympus?"

Thalia tilted her head. She didn't want to hear the details. "I know what happened," she said coldly.

"Annabeth Chase was stupid enough to believe that her celestial bronze knife will be able to destroy Kronos," Luke said, his fingers slipping off Thalia's face and resting onto her shoulders. "Well, I managed to fight back the Titan Lord's power and stab myself with the knife. The Titan died, but his power remained with me."

"You betrayed Annabeth," Thalia said, straining at the ropes. "After everything she'd done for you."

Luke slashed at the ropes with Backbiter, and Thalia tried to leap up and attack Luke, but he was ready for it. He slammed her back into the chair, his arms reaching out to secure her shoulders to the wood. A pair of electric blue eyes darted up at him. She breathed heavily; her mouth parted slightly.

"When somebody releases you," Luke drawled, tilting his head towards Thalia, "You do not attack them."

She unconsciously leaned back. "I'm dreaming. You're not being attacked."

Luke smiled. "Just teaching you a lesson on how to survive."

A little bit of the old Thalia came back. "Oh, yeah? I don't need anything from _you_, traitor, _murderer_," she spat. "I hate you!"

He laughed. "That's the Thalia I know. And, don't worry, I'll be tracking you. Until then, enjoy your freedom."

_Fifteen seconds later_

"Thalia? Thalia. Wake up. Are you okay?" Nico shook her shoulders, hard.

"Sorry, Nico. Just a nightmare," the girl said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes wearily. "What time is it?"

"Six in the morning. Wake Chris and Clarisse," Nico whispered softly, moving on to shake Connor awake.

"Guys, get up," Thalia called, briefly touching their arms. "Rachel, Chris, Clarisse, Connor, Jake and Katie, go look for some food. Pollux and Will, would you mind running the perimeter for me?"

As soon as the other demigods were gone, the son of Hades turned to Thalia. "What happened in your dream?"

"It was just a nightmare. Nothing to be worried about," Thalia smiled at him. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Nico didn't look convinced.

The girl nodded, her smile fading. "But we have to move soon. Luke's tracking us."

****DAKOTA: And I have successfully kidnapped my Evilsuehunter.  
>ANGELIQUE: Kota… ugh… let… GO!<strong>**


	4. Chapter Four

**ANGELIQUE: *breaks free of ropes* FREEDOM!  
>DAKOTA: *grabs Angelique's wrist* Oh no you don't.<br>ANGELIQUE: But I was trying to post the third chapter!  
>DAKOTA: I posted it already – hey, wait, how did you hack into my computer software?<br>ANGELIQUE: *coughs* Kota, you're, um, holding my wrist.  
>DAKOTA: *lets go* Sorry.<br>ANGELIQUE: YES! FREEDOM!**

_Tie me up, tie me down, don't let me run away._

**-Thalia Grace to _dracaenae_**

It turned out that Rachel's famous reputation was very useful to the demigods.

"I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare. May we take your car, please? You can take the money back from my father," the red headed girl addressed a man in a business suit. He blanched, nodded and dropped the keys into her hands.

"Thank you." Without another word, Rachel opened the black, shiny door, and the half bloods piled in.

"Hold on," Thalia spoke up, holding up a hand as if she could physically stop the demigods. "Does anyone _know_ how to drive a car?"

Nobody answered. Then-

"Well, not really, but Travis and I have stolen a car before," Connor began. "We, um, learned a little bit on how to control the engine. But-"

Thalia cut him off. "_Drive_," she ordered in a voice only a daughter of Zeus could manage. "Travis, front seat next to Connor. Chris, Clarisse, Jake, Katie and Malcolm, you guys will be in the second row. Nico, Pollux, Rachel, Will and I will fit in the back."

It was a very uncomfortable but very quick ride to San Francisco. After twenty hours, the demigods were out of the car, some running around in the midnight air, their ADHD unable to take the sitting any longer. Katie and Pollux found them a forest to sleep in, and Thalia tried to whack her spiky black hair short with her spear. The keyword was "tried", because the spear was too long and the others were still hopping up and down with adrenaline to help her. Rachel was no help since she couldn't hold a weapon without accidently slashing somebody's arm off. Nico decided to run the perimeter and brought back some bad news.

"About a hundred _dracaenae_ are approaching," Nico said grimly. "That is _not_ good at all."

"We'll take them," Thalia said, but she sounded quite doubtful.

"Hey, answer this. Is Pandora's Box real or fake?" Rachel grabbed a thin stick and starting sketching in the brown dirt.

"Real," the group said together immediately. All of them had seen it.

"Can you summon it?" the mortal questioned, excitement suddenly building in her voice.

"Of course." Thalia wondered why she was asking such a strange question.

"Is it possible to capture the monsters with Pandora's Box? I mean, Pandora released death and all the other bad things that were inside, right? Can't you capture those diseases again? And if you can capture diseases, why not monsters too?" Rachel drew the perfect image of the Box.

There was a long period silence.

"That's not possible. Not even the great Athena had thought of that, Rachel," Malcolm told her.

"Besides," Thalia added, "You will have to give up Hope as well when you open the Box."

"Oh. Okay. It was just a thought." Rachel sounded disappointed.

"But if that worked," Clarisse unexpectedly spoke up, "Millions of lives can be saved."

"So we have to find a way to make Hope stick inside Pandora's Box and stuff the monsters in there," Jake said. "Perhaps I can make modifications to it and-"

"No," Nico and Thalia said it like they'd rehearsed the sentence. "It's too dangerous and risky," the girl said. "You can never be too sure of your powers."

Jake looked a little hurt, but if Thalia noticed it, she didn't apologize. She wasn't the kind of person who made amends.

The demigods all tensed, Nico and Thalia a split second faster than the others.

"Somebody or something is coming," Katie shifted slightly closer to Rachel as if she was her personal bodyguard, her green eyes alert and scanning the trees. Thalia and Nico pulled out their weapons at the same time. The others followed, forming a circle around the only mortal in the demigod group.

An eight year old girl emerged from the trees, and the demigods relaxed.

Rachel looked a little confused and scared. "Why- who is that?"

"Hestia, goddess of the hearth," Katie told her.

"Does she always appear in monster form?" Rachel asked in a high but calm voice.

Twelve pairs of eyes bounced towards the mortal then back to the little girl, and Thalia slapped her bracelet, revealing Aegis. The female took a step back and shifted into a snarling dracaena.

"Stupid, clear Sighted mortal," the dracaena hissed. "Master Luke would not like to hear about this."

More snake woman surrounded the group in perfect layers. As if on a cue, the half bloods took a step back in a circle, Rachel in the middle, her eyes darting back and forth.

"Katie and Pollux, you two are Rachel's bodyguards," Thalia whispered softly, her voice barely audible. "Nico, flank me. We're fighting in pairs."

Then she shoved her spear cleanly into the first _dracaena's _chest, and the battle began.

_Five minutes later_

Thalia was ready to give up Hope when the _dracaenae_ had bounded her hands together. Eleven of them had spears trained onto their throats. There were about forty of them left, but Thalia was too exhausted to fight them.

But Rachel was missing.

And suddenly, the _dracaenae_ vanished into the thin air, and the demigods looked around wildly for any source of attacking.

"Monsters were unleashed by Pandora's Box," Rachel said softly, walking towards the half bloods, clutching the _pithos_. "And they can be captured again."

Rachel caressed the lid gently. "I can see Elpis inside the box. The Spirit… it's so fragile…"

"RACHEL, DON'T OPEN IT!" the demigods yelled, just as she closed her fingers on the lid.

The mortal was startled out of the hypnotic trance. "Oh, my gods," she muttered and put the jar down hastily. "Okay, I'm never touching that item again."

The red haired girl untied the demigods, and they rubbed their arms gratefully. The tight rope had left burn marks on their wrists. Nico approached Pandora's Box cautiously and took it in his hands.

"Thalia? You might want to see this," Nico held to the box to her. "Look at the engravings."

The daughter of Zeus glanced at the words. "_Noax_," she murmured, tracing the elegant designs. "Nico…"

"What is it?" The others hurried over.

"Watch this. _Ypakouste mou_!" As soon as Thalia said the words, a jet of cold air blasted right into the other demigods, knocking them five feet away from the Box.

Thalia yelled over the howling wind, "_Min anoigete se kanenan poios einai kako_!"

"Thalia, don't do it!" Eleven voices yelled at her as the wind blew the others back five feet more, but Thalia remained safe.

The daughter of Zeus said calmly, "_Na min emfanizetai an den kaleitai apo ena paidi tou Dia, tou Poseidona kai Adi._ And you are not called!"

Pandora's Box vanished with a bolt of lightning, and the wind died.

"Thalia! You okay?" Nico rushed forward as the girl collapsed onto the ground.

"Yeah," Thalia murmured softly. "I'm fine." She sat up shakily.

"Let's rest for the moment," Malcolm looked at Thalia concernedly. "It's nine o' clock."

Nico and Thalia shared a glance, and Nico nodded.

**ANGELIQUE: I can't believe you fell for that.  
>DAKOTA: I can't believe I kidnapped you.<br>ANGELIQUE: What were you playing at?  
>DAKOTA: Uh… Artemis Fowl? *smiles sweetly*<strong>


	5. Chapter Five

**DAKOTA: Thou art not conquer'd. Beauty's ensign yet –  
>ANGELIQUE: Go f*ck yourself, Kota. I shall never be conquered! *but backs away slowly*<br>DAKOTA: O here  
>Will I set up my everlasting rest<br>And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars –  
>ANGELIQUE: Inauspicious stars my *ss. <strong>**Never mind Zoë Nightshade, Katherine can kill you in fifteen seconds.****  
>DAKOTA: Fine, Angel. You asked for it.<br>ANGELIQUE: Asked for what? Romeo and Juliet suck b – *Dakota slams Angelique to the ground* Ouch! F*ck you!  
>DAKOTA: *grins* Now that's no way to speak to your LT.<br>ANGELIQUE: Kota. Get. Off! F*ck it!  
>DAKOTA: My, you do have a short temper.<br>ANGELIQUE: My, you do have a short _chapter_.**

_I'm losing my mind, and you just stand there and stare as my world divides._

**_-_****Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan**

When Thalia opened her eyes, she was in an unfamiliar place. Her hands and ankles were bounded to a firm wooden chair, and fear gripped at her immediately. A cloth was bounded loosely against her mouth, but it made it extremely unlikely for the daughter of Zeus to make any sound. She struggled frantically, trying to bite off the cloth with her mouth. It stayed put.

_It's a dream_, Thalia thought. _Nobody could have known where I was going_.

Except for Luke Castellan.

The daughter of Zeus let out a muffled cuss, still fighting the ropes fruitlessly.

Deciding to leave them alone after fifteen minutes of struggling, Thalia gazed around the room. There were no windows, just one door, and the girl suspected that it was bolted by something on the other side. The white floor and walls had no ventilation system or any that could help her escape. Thalia will just have to wait: the thing an ADHD demigod was worst at. She began kicking her ankle bounded ropes against the chair leg from sheer boredom.

The door opened and fear rushed into her veins. Thalia's best friend and archenemy stood before her: Luke Castellan.

"Hello, Thalia. It's good to see you again." His smile was warm and friendly. Like the girl had seen in her dream, Luke's face was scar less and his eyes were emerald green.

The daughter of Zeus glared at him, still fighting the ropes.

"You're still the same, even after you lost the battle," Luke drawled, leaning on the wall. The rope and the cloth slithered away from Thalia, and she stood up immediately, but the girl didn't attack- Thalia knew she would fail.

"I kidnapped you for a reason, you know that, daughter of Zeus?"

She didn't respond, though she glared at him even harder.

"I need you to summon Pandora's Box."

Thalia's head jerked up in shock. "What? How did you-"

"I told you I would be tracking you. Where is Pandora's Box?" Luke flicked Thalia's silver bracelet in the air. Her eyes followed his every movement, but she didn't blink.

"What do you have to force me into it?"

Luke laughed. His laughter was full of warmth and love, and the girl longed for the boy she once knew. Then he walked closer, and Thalia steeled herself, her steady gaze fixed on him.

"Ethan and some other of my demigods found a sixteen year old half-blood nearby. He's a son of Zeus, and-" Luke began.

Thalia's heart leaped.

"His last name is Grace," Luke finished, a smug smile darting onto his face.

**DAKOTA: You're so cute when you're angry.  
>ANGELIQUE: Let's go home, LT.<br>DAKOTA: I'd rather not.  
>ANGELIQUE: HELP, PEOPLE! THIS GUY IS HARASSING ME!<br>ANGELIQUE: …  
>ANGELIQUE: As I quote Rachel Elizabeth Dare, "nobody cares".<br>VERY TALL LADY WITH HOLLYWOOD SHADES: May I help you, little girl?  
>ANGELIQUE: JUST COZ I'M A MIDGET DOESN'T MEAN I'M LITTLE!<br>V. T. L. W. H. S.: *gasp* What a rude child!**


	6. Chapter Six

**LUCIANA: Catherine, aren't you worried about Angel and Dakota? They've been gone for two chapters.  
>KATHERINE: Angel and Dakota are mature enough to take care of themselves.<br>LUCIANA: Really? Is that why Dakota kidnapped Angel and took her to Vegas?  
>KATHERINE: Dakota is the lieutenant of Shadow Quarters, Lucy. They'll be fine.<br>(LAS VEGAS)  
>ANGELIQUE: HELP!<br>DAKOTA: I'm just taking you to a bar, Angel.  
>ANGELIQUE: I'M UNDERAGE!<br>DAKOTA: You'll be fine, midget.**

_You know you live to break me. Don't deny._

**-Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan**

"You lie." But Thalia's eyes darted to the ground, and Luke smiled.

"Thalia, Thalia, _Thalia_," he said taunting. "I never lie. You, of all people, should know that," he said, tracing an Omega on the wall.

"Where is the half blood, then?" She lifted her head, the silver circlet of Artemis glittering dully on it.

Luke smirked, his emerald eyes shifting from gold to green to blue.

Ethan Nakamura walked straight through the door and held a knife to a demigod's neck. Jason Grace's jaw dropped as he saw Thalia. Then fear seeped into his veins.

"Oh my gods-" Thalia started towards him, but Luke tilted his head and chains slithered around the girl's hands like snakes, throwing her against the wall.

Thalia didn't want to do it, but it was her only choice. She'd run out of options.

"Luke," she said pleadingly, struggling weakly against the bonds. "I haven't seen him since I was ten."

The son of Hermes shot her a look full of sympathy. "Then you'll just have to wait a little longer."

"_Please_." Thalia gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. "I'll do anything."

Luke glanced at her for a moment.

"Ethan?"

The chains clinked away, Ethan removed the weapon. Thalia dashed towards Jason and embraced him, her electric blue eyes brimming with tears.

"I thought Hera killed you," she murmured, releasing Jason quickly. Shooting a glance at Luke, Thalia realized he was smirking again.

"How are you so young?" Jason looked at her questioningly.

"Long story. Where did you go?"

Jason hesitated. "I-"

"Thalia." Luke's voice pierced the Graces' heartbreaking (you can't exactly say happy) reunion.

"Jason, I'll talk to you later." The daughter of Zeus looked at her brother one last time and left the room with Luke.

She crept along beside him, eying him as if he was scum on her shoe. But then, Thalia realized that she was barefoot.

"Stop staring at me like that," Luke spun around. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Thalia's electric blue eyes flashed. "Wow, Luke. You're not going to hurt me. I remember you told me that the first time we met. Now look at what you've done with me."

"Here." Luke tossed her bracelet shield and Mace canister into the air, and the girl caught it uncertainly. "Peace offering?"

"You call that a… a peace offering? That rightly belongs to me." Thalia scoffed and put the bracelet on angrily, but she shot Luke a quick look. His gaze was amused, a smile quirking onto his face. Thalia did the exact opposite, scowled and stalked on.

"Daughter of Zeus, _where do you think you are going_?" Luke glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going back to Jason," she retorted.

"No way. You guys are going to end up trying to make a plan to escape." Luke crossed his arms.

Thalia ignored him. That was a big mistake.

"Ouch!" Thalia was yanked backward by the wrist, and her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Watch it, Castellan!"

"Give me Pandora's Box," Luke said quietly. "Summon it."

"Why should I?" she asked defiantly.

"Because then I'll make Jason do it." The son of Hermes leaned against the wall casually and tilted his head to the left.

"Wonderful," Thalia snarled. "You'll try to get me through Jason." Inside, her heart was pounding hard.

"Jason will be forced to do it if you don't cooperate," Luke answered.

Thalia lunged at him, who sidestepped the blow. Almost effortlessly, he shoved the girl against the wall and held Annabeth's knife to her throat. Thalia froze, almost immediately.

"_Summon it_," Luke ordered, an icy cold finger tracing the shape of her lips.

Thalia would have preferred Luke to cut her throat open rather than to do _that_, but she obeyed, her angry and fearful eyes following his slightest movements.

**ANGELIQUE: Heeey, Kota…  
>DAKOTA: Oh no.<br>ANGELIQUE: Let's go back to the hotel room and … *suggestive wink***


	7. Chapter Seven

**DAKOTA: I bought Angel back!  
>KATHERINE: You bought Angel back in one of her moods? Are you CRAZY?<br>DAKOTA: …  
>*Angelique flames the Shadow Quarters, Luciana hides underneath her desk*<br>KATHERINE: NOOOOO! NOT THE TROLLS!  
>ANGELIQUE: Wow, I mean like, your fic is so good! Update soon!<br>*Angelique extinguishes the flames with her review; the trolls come out*  
>KATHERINE: LT! THIS IS YOUR MESS!<strong>

_I've put my trust in you – pushed as far as I could go. For all this, there's only one thing you should know…_

**-Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan**

"Release me first." Thalia glared at the ground, burning holes through it.

"No." He shot her a grin, and his gaze met hers. The girl looked away angrily, but her electric blue eyes shut and the _pithos_ appeared in her hands. The daughter of I dropped the jar lightly into Luke's.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"You can go see Jason now." Luke steered Thalia towards the end of the corridor, but the girl shoved him away and crossed her arms.

Luke sighed. "I need it for personal reasons."

"You won't be able to open it."

Suddenly, the son of Hermes was curling Thalia's black hair with his fingers casually. "But you'll help me, won't you, Thalia?"

She didn't move, but her breathing quickened.

"What's the chance of that?"

Luke just smiled, grabbed her pushed her inside a door.

Inside, Thalia slumped against the wall and started crying. She didn't notice Jason until he knelt down to her small frame and touched Thalia's shoulder concernedly. She didn't look up even then.

"Thalia…"

"I'm fine." She stood up abruptly, her red eyes glittering with unshed tears. That was when she noticed two other demigods standing awkwardly in front of her. Perhaps they were fifteen, sixteen, maybe. The room was decorated like a house, so Thalia sat down on the couch almost immediately.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, glancing quickly at the other girl that had just walked over to him.

She whispered something in his ear, and Jason's eyes widened.

"I'm Piper. Piper… McLean." The girl held out a hand to Thalia, and she shook it.

"Leo Valdez." Jason gestured to the boy in the corner. "Son of Vulcan-"

"Hephaestus," Leo corrected.

"Right. Piper is a daughter of Venus- um, I mean…"

"_Aphro_dite." Piper gave Jason encouraging smile.

"Uh, yeah." Jason shot Thalia an embarrassed look.

"I'm Thalia," the girl introduced herself. "Daughter of I."

The door burst open and Ethan stormed in. Thalia leaped up, her hand flying to Aegis.

"You all are moved to another room," Ethan yelled, jabbing the back of his spear in Jason's stomach. Piper's eyes shifted from sky blue to a dark brown as Jason glared at him.

The half bloods were pushed into the hallway and into a huge, square, white room about a hundred feet big. The place was crowded, and the demigods huddled in groups- probably according to parentage.

That was all. Half-bloods crammed into the room- everyone that was left.

Thalia began scanning the crowd desperately for Nico and the others- finally she spotted him, sulking in corner. Rachel was a little ways away from him. Some of the other demigods were the only ones left in their cabin.

"Jason, Leo, and Piper-" Thalia grabbed them- "Come on."

The daughter of I dragged the three towards Nico, and his face filled with relief as he saw her.

"Oh, my gods, I thought you were killed!" Nico looked extremely relieved, and hope began to seep into his expression.

"My brother, Jason-" Thalia gestured towards him- "Piper McLean-" the daughter of Aphrodite waved- "And Leo Valdez." Leo blinked.

"Your… brother?" Nico raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Long story. Are the others okay?" Thalia fingered Aegis anxiously.

"Yes. Will, Clarisse and Malcolm are trying to get the demigods under control, but… as far as they are concerned, they're doomed to the Doors of Death." Nico shrugged.

Jason shot up, his eyes wild, like he'd just been electrocuted. "_Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem_," he chanted.

"Jason," Thalia said, expression perfectly calm, "_Where did you hear that line_? And learn how to pronounce perfect Latin?"

"I-" Jason winced and rubbed his temples. "I don't know."

"Jason has amnesia," Piper said quickly. "Hera stole his memories."

Thalia felt anger pulse into her head, but she swallowed the emotion as fast as she could. There was nothing she could do now.

"I think we should gather everyone together and try to start a rebellion," Rachel said quietly. Thalia jumped a little, startled at her voice.

"I'm not doing it," Jason and Thalia said at the same time. Thalia didn't have Hope anymore- literally.

Rachel jumped up. "Then I am. Nico, are you following me?"

He sighed wearily, but stood up. Thalia crossed her arms.

"Nobody's going to help you," she muttered, and Jason nodded.

"Thanks for the encouragement," Nico glanced at her with intense shadowed eyes for a moment and left.

**DAKOTA: Okay, Angel. Very, very slowly, take three steps back from the troll.  
>ANGELIQUE: Or what?<strong>

**DAKOTA: Or I'll flame you.  
>ANGELIQUE: Not cool, LT. *backs away slowly*<br>DAKOTA: Okay. Stay where you are. *looks at Katherine and yells* DID YOU CAGE THE TROLLS YET?  
>KATHERINE: NO! LUCIANA, COME ON, HELP ME!<br>*And everything is back to normal as DABOSS walks in with her black cloak covering her body – the trolls are trapped back into the fireplace behind the flames, and the Mary Sue/Gary Stus are back in their prison of the gray, anti-Sue room*  
>DABOSS: Angel, next time this happens you're staying in prison with the Sues.<br>ANGELIQUE: Yes, DABOSS.**


	8. Chapter Eight

**DAKOTA: DABOSS is letting me train you as a punishment.  
>ANGELIQUE: F*CK!<br>DAKOTA: Don't worry, it's just for a day.  
>ANGELIQUE: A DAY? A <em>DAY<em>? IS SHE CRAZY? I'D BE DEAD IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!  
>DAKOTA: I know.<br>ANGELIQUE: *takes deep breaths* Okay, Kota. But just go easy.  
>DAKOTA: Funny, DABOSS told me to unleash my full strength.<strong>

_I'm so tired of being here._

**-Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan**

"Okay. So we need to get their names first. See who's left. You got any paper?" Nico glanced at Rachel, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"Paper, pencil," she tossed them out of her pockets. "There."

_Thirty minutes later_

A while later, the list was done.

_Aphrodite cabin: Drew, Lacy, Mitchell, Piper McLean, four boys, eleven girls (one eleven years old)_

_Apollo cabin: Austin, Kayla, Will Solace_

_Ares cabin: Clarisse La Rue, Mark, Sherman, four girls_

_Athena cabin: Malcolm_

_Demeter cabin: Katie Gardner, Miranda Gardiner_

_Dionysus cabin: Pollux_

_Hades cabin: Nico di Angelo_

_Hecate cabin: Lou Ellen_

_Hephaestus cabin: Christopher, Harley, Jake Mason, Leo Valdez, Nyssa, Shane, seven more_

_Hermes cabin: Chris Rodriguez, Connor Stoll, Travis Stoll, one boy, two girls_

_Hypnos cabin: Clovis_

_Iris cabin: Butch_

_Zeus cabin: Thalia Grace, Jason Grace_

_Unknown: Laurel, Jason_

_Total: Sixty_

"You have pretty nice handwriting," Nico shot Rachel an approving look.

Rachel stared at him warily for a moment. "Uh, right."

"Let's show this to Thalia and Jason, see what they think."

_Three minutes later_

"Sixty? That quite impressive. I thought there would be about thirty left," Jason said, scrunching up his eyebrows.

"Hmm." Thalia glanced at the list without interest. "Do tell me, how much were willing to help you?" she tilted her head, like Luke always did.

"Thirty, including us." Nico sighed and sat down.

"Exactly." Thalia fingered her silver bracelet.

"What is wrong with you?" Nico exploded. "You're supposed to be helping us against the rebellion!"

"I gave Luke Castellan Pandora's _pithos_," Thalia said coolly, each word emotionless. "He was threatening to kill Jason. If Bianca was alive and Luke was going to kill her, I'm sure that you will do the same."

Jason looked guilty. "You should have-"

"No," Thalia said softly, but firmly, shaking her head. "No."

"Okay, we're doomed," Nico slumped down onto the ground. He looked like a lost little twelve year old, and Rachel wished she could help him.

"We're not," the red-haired girl said. Then green mist poured from her mouth, and Thalia's eyes widened. So did Piper McLean's and Leo Valdez's. Jason just rubbed his temples, frustrated.

_"A half-blood of the eldest gods_

_Shall reach sixteen against all odds_

_And see the world in endless sleep,_

_The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap._

_A single choice shall end his days._

_Olympus to preserve or raze."_

**LUCIANA: Is Angel okay?  
>KATHERINE: Of course she's okay. She's unconscious.<br>LUCIANA: But Angel's flinching in her bed.  
>KATHERINE: If she was awake, do you think she'd be flinching?<br>LUCIANA: … nah. She'll be screaming.**


	9. Chapter Nine

**LUCIANA: Where's Angel?  
>KATHERINE: Still in the hospital.<br>LUCIANA: Oh.  
>KATHERINE: …<br>LUCIANA: Where's Dakota?  
>KATHERINE: He's outside, pissing off the wood nymphs. :)<br>****LUCIANA: …?  
>KATHERINE: I hate wood nymphs. :)<strong>

_Couldn't hide the emptiness- you let it show._

**-Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan**

"The machine," Luke snapped at Ethan. "Sift through her mind and see if you find anything about the prophecy that annoying mortal predicted."

Ethan nodded, clamping cuffs on Thalia's wrists and ankles onto the metal table. The girl thrashed, her eyes filled both anger and fear. "Luke, let me go! I swear, I don't know what the prophecy was about!" she pleaded.

Luke stared at Ethan. "Get the machine ready."

Ethan nodded again. Turning away from the two demigods, one chained onto the metal table and the other staring passively at Thalia, he typed something she couldn't see in the complicated machine, and then it started whirring horribly.

Now, Thalia's eyes were filled with absolute fear, but she still managed to keep her voice controlled and met Luke's eyes. "Don't do this. You'll regret it, I swear on the River Styx."

Luke walked towards her and inclined his head towards the machine. "This can process every single one of your thoughts, newest creation of both Athena and Hephaestus. We'll see how you think later, okay?" he murmured, placing a cold finger on her lips. Thalia wanted to punch him in the stomach, or better, in the face, but she was frozen by the hard, metal cuffs or something else much more complicated.

"Processing thoughts… Processing thoughts…" a mechanical voice announced, and Thalia's heart sank. Devastation penetrated the girl's face.

"Scrolling prophecy…" the emotionless voice droned on, and Ethan tilted his head in interest. He leaned over to the machine. "Luke, you might want to stop sucking face with Thalia and come here."

Thalia's eyes widened and she spat out a stream of swear words at Ethan that would have made Artemis proud. Luke alone seemed unaffected as he strolled over to the table-like gadget.

"Something about an Oracle," he murmured after a pause. "Yes, I definitely need to talk to that Rachel you have there. The rest is basically about your little rebellion losing. And there are about twenty eight demigods that are willing to fight. Ethan and the others shall take care of that. I see you've made a list… good. Perfect."

Luke looked up. "Ethan, grab your second in command and a few others to bring the rebelling half-bloods to the Underworld for a little… ah, shall we be kinder in front of Zeus' daughter and say, _entertainment _for our monsters."

Ethan nodded, smirking at Thalia as he left. As soon as the door slammed shut, the cuffs snapped open and Thalia shot up, her eyes angry and terrified.

"How did you enter my mind?" she demanded at Luke, backing up against the wall, trying to be as far away from him as possible.

Luke smiled. "I'm going to be honest with you: Athena and Hephaestus made the little gadget for us, completely in the own will, of course."

"No," Thalia said, gritting her teeth. "I want you to say that you tortured them until they begged for mercy and agreed to make that stupid device."

Luke's smile turned into a smirk. "As you wish, _princess_. I tortured them until they begged for mercy and agreed to make that "stupid device"."

Thalia's eyes burned with hate, and she almost attacked him, but then she realized she had no weapons.

"Oh, right," Luke said, glancing over to the machine, which was currently scrolling down with letters and letters. "They're stored in the weaponry, under lock and key, and of course, heavy guarded."

The daughter of Zeus looked away, trying to calm her fury. Annoying little beeps came from the machine, and Thalia knew it was showing out some illegal words and a few bitter curses.

**LUCIANA: Angel's out of the hospital!  
>KATHERINE: How do you know? The Apollo agents never let anybody inside the hospital.<br>LUCIANA: *coughaustincough***


	10. Chapter Ten

**ANGELIQUE: Hey, guys I'm back!  
>LUCIANA: HOLY APHRODITE!<br>ANGELIQUE: What? Do I have something on my face? *looks behind her*  
>ANGELIQUE: HOLY HECATE LET'S GET THE F*CK OUT OF HERE!<br>KATHERINE: LUCIANA, GUARD THE DOORWAY! ANGEL, AUSTIN, DAKOTA AND JASON, FOLLOW ME! LAUREL, POST THAT CHAPTER!  
>LAUREL: On it!<strong>

Thalia saw a little demigod child getting kicked in the ribs by an enemy half-blood, and then her fury exploded.

"In the name of the goddess Artemis, mistress of the Hunt, you will not harm this girl!" Thalia yelled, shooting a magnificent jet of lightning at the half-blood. He flew fifteen feet away and hit the wall, unconscious. Quickly, the daughter of Zeus leant down to the little child.

"Are you alright?" Thalia asked, picking up the whimpering ball of demigod and setting her down in the corner of the room. "I'll call the medic, okay? What's your name?"

The little girl clutched her ribs. "Lacy, daughter of Aphrodite," she choked out. "I'm ten years old."

_That explains it_, Thalia thought. "Hang in there. I'll get an Apollo camper."

"I- I think my ribs are cracked," Lacy said softly. "Could you- could you get Piper over-?"

Thalia nodded, shooting a worried glance at the girl. "Okay."

_Ten minutes later_

Nico had gotten all the rebelling demigods together just as Thalia brought some bad news.

"Uh, Nico, I, um, need to talk to you in private," she mumbled, shifting her weight from leg to leg. "It's important."

Nico shot a puzzled glance at Thalia. "Okay…?"

After they'd walked to a secluded corner of the room, Nico asked, "What?"

The girl took a deep breath. "Luke has this device that can read minds. Um, and he… well, he read mine and now he knows about the prophecy and the names of the rebelling demigods."

Nico let out a chuckle that was filled with dark mirth. "Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse."

"Well, I'm _sorry_," Thalia said defensively. "It wasn't like I chose to let him know."

_Thirty minutes later_

The demigods sat in groups according to parentage. Since Butch, Clovis, Lou Ellen, Malcolm, Nico, Pollux, and Rachel Dare didn't have one, they sat with Jason and Thalia.

Nobody spoke. The room was deathly silent as a morgue. Jason absentmindedly traced his tattoos, and Thalia leaned on him while drawing a battle plan on the floor. The others were sleeping, but then Rachel's eyes suddenly flew open.

"Jason, Thalia, something is coming," she squeaked, her eyes darting around fearfully.

Thalia paled, remembering Luke's earlier threat. "Jason… will you sacrifice yourself to save the world?"

Jason nodded immediately, a little confused. "Of course."

"Let's hope it stays that way," Thalia whispered, gripping her hands tightly together as though in a prayer.

Then the doors burst open, and the daughter of Zeus closed her eyes and prayed to every single god or goddess in existence that may or may not be listening.

"Please," Thalia whispered. "Father, if I've done anything you're proud of in my entire life, help me. _Help me now_."

**ANGELIQUE: OH MY GODS! THAT – THAT –!  
><strong>**DAKOTA: Yep. That's M****iss Aqua-Oceania "Bethesda-Nerine" Amphitrite-Arethousa Jackson, one of the people on our WANTED list.  
><strong>**ANGELIQUE: Oh my gods. O.O Oh my gods. O.O Oh my gods. O.O  
><strong>****LAUREL: Is she going into shock?  
>DAKOTA: Nah. I trained her too well for that.<br>ANGELIQUE: *recovers* Humph****


	11. Chapter Eleven

**KATHERINE: LAUREL, KILL THAT B*TCH F*CK*R!  
>DAKOTA: O.O<br>ANGELIQUE: O.O  
>LAUREL: *kills Aqua-Oceania "Bethesda-Nerine" Amphitrite-Arethousa Jackson and retrieves stolen chapter*<strong>

Thalia kept her electric blue eyes closed.

"How do you feel, daughter of Zeus?" Luke asked her.

"Like punching you in face," she spat, her eyes still closed.

He started combing through her hair. Thalia hated that. "Remember, one false move, and Jason will get hurt," he whispered into her ear.

Jason, indeed, was bound tightly to the wall. Ropes tangled around his wrists and feet, and Ethan held a needle to Jason's arm, while Thalia had the VIP seat, sitting on a wooden chair with only her ankles tied together. In front of her was a desk, and on it sat Pandora's Box.

"Luke, _what do you want from me_?" Thalia kept her eyes shut. "What do you want from me?" she repeated, slightly calmer.

His cold hands rested lightly on her shoulders. "For you to open the Box."

Thalia took a deep breath and released it. "No."

What she heard three seconds later made her eyes fly open. "Oh, my gods," she whispered. "Jace…" Thalia swallowed. "Are you okay?"

Ethan had injected the pain liquid into Jason, and he'd whimpered pathetically, his eyes wide and terrified. Thalia met his gaze.

"Remember what I told you earlier, Jason Grace?" Thalia asked him softly.

Jason bit his lip and nodded slowly, a tear tracing down his cheek.

"Hang in there, okay?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You'll be fine."

"Come on, Thalia," Luke said sweetly. "Let's not play around."

Thalia closed her eyes and started muttering prayers. Some were pleading and most were violent. For example, the worst one was "_Dear Father, if you don't strike Luke with a lightning bolt RIGHT NOW then I will personally come up to Mount Othrys to kick your skinny little butt. From: Your daughter. NOW HELP ME OR I WILL KILL YOU_."

This time, Jason screamed as though he was burning in the fires of Hades, and Thalia buried her face in her hands, refusing to let anyone see her shed tears.

"Luke, please, don't do this," she said, her voice cracking. "Don't… _please_."

"It'll be over when your open the Box," Luke said, his voice soft. "_Come on_, Thalia."

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "No."

Jason screamed again, and Thalia screamed with him as though she was feeling his pain. It stirred up fury and anguish inside the girl. Whirling towards Luke, she glared at him with bright red eyes.

"_I'll take Jason's place_- just don't hurt him, _please_," she yelled, tears now streaming down her face, gushing in rivers. "_Don't hurt him_."

Luke shook his head. "That's not how it works, Thalia."

Jason screamed again, and she felt her heart shatter into pieces. "Luke, _no_. Oh my gods, _no_."

"If you open the Box, then everything will be okay," Luke said quietly. "You and your demigod friends will be released."

"I can't do this," she whispered. "I just- I just can't, Luke. You need to understand this," she said, breathing deeply.

This time, it was worse. Thalia heard Jason yell out in gut wrenching pain, and she swallowed. Jason gasped for air, and she stared at him with horrified eyes. Jason sent her one message: _Tell Luke to kill me and make it quick._

Thalia shook her head, tears dripping onto the table. Her hands reached out to touch the lid of the Box. Thalia felt the power she welded. If she opened the Box, she'll die. If she didn't open the Box, she'll die. It was just the way she preferred: Painfully or quickly.

"Thalia…" Jason choked out, and his sister's face snapped up to him. "No."

Ethan struck him in the face and injected another needle into his bleeding arm, and Jason cried out in pain.

Thalia stared at Luke furiously. "_You'll pay for this_."

Luke touched her face. "I won't. And you know it."

Hatred built up in Thalia's heart as he pushed her and Jason back into the jail with the other demigods.

**ANGELIQUE: YEAHHH! We killed AOBNAAJ.  
>DAKOTA: Laurel did, actually. With her powers.<br>ANGELIQUE: What powers?  
>DAKOTA: Read <em>Rebel of Shadows<em>. Go. Do it now. And yes, the Laurel and Catherine and whoever else in it _IS_ the Laurel and Catherine we all know.**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**ANGELIQUE: I remember training… *sigh* … good times, good times.  
>DAKOTA: I remember kicking your ass at training… good times.<br>_SMACK._**

_All the feelings that I get… But I still don't miss you yet._

**-Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan.**

"NICO DI ANGELO! TELL WILL SOLACE TO GET HIS BUTT HERE AND FIX JASON, NOW!" Thalia yelled, her eyes streaking with fire and tears he'd never seen before.

Nico thought Thalia looked a little like a bad angel from hell, but he didn't tell her that. Instead, he picked Will up and shoved him into the direction of the furious girl.

_Well, Will _does _have reasons to be scared for his life right now,_ Nico mused.

_Ten minutes later_

"Jace, hang in there, okay? I've got three Apollo campers fixing you now. Don't worry." Thalia settled him down against the wall.

He managed a small nod.

Will started healing Jason, and Thalia slumped down to the floor and closed her eyes.

"I don't want that to happen to you _ever_ again."

Jason smiled weakly. "But it will, sister. You can't stop it."

Thalia stared at the floor with utter determination. "I will, Jason. I'll get you out of this mess, no matter what."

After a minute, Jason said something that startled her.

"I love you, sister."

"Love you too," Thalia smiled tentatively.

"I wish that he'll say that to me," Piper appeared, crouching down to glance at the two siblings.

Jason smiled and closed his eyes. "Love you too, Piper. Oh, and Thalia…?"

"What?" Thalia closed her eyes too.

"This is so, totally gross, but I think that there's something between you and Luke."

Thalia's eyes flew open. "WHAT?"

Jason gave her a little smirk and inclined his head at Piper.

"Well, _thank you_, daughter of Aphrodite," she glared.

Piper did not smile. "This is the key to your prophecy. Don't ever fall in love with him, Hunter of Artemis. If you do, you'll be mortal again, and you'll turn sixteen."

Thalia's heart sank. "You will tell me if I did, right?"

Piper looked away. "Of course I'll tell you." Then, the girl walked away.

Five seconds later, she returned. "Thalia?"

"Yeah?"

"You're mortal."

Sparks literally flew out of her eyes. "Okay." She took and deep breath as the blessing of Ares replaced Artemis'.

"This is bad," Jason muttered. "The last time that happened to me I killed everybody in the room."

"Then I'll just go outside the room," Thalia told him, and she burst through the door.

**LUCIANA: Where's Dakota now?  
>CATHERINE: In the hospital. With a really, really big bruise on his cheek. =)<strong>


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**KATHERINE: The Hunt! *bows down*  
>ARTEMIS: *smiles warmly* Hello again, my little huntress.<br>ARTEMIS: Who slapped that son of Apollo in the face?  
>ANGELIQUE: Me.<br>ARTEMIS: *clap clap clap***

_I just don't belong here; I hope you understand._

**-Thalia Grace to Artemis**

Nico was right. She was an angel sent from heaven to do the evil deeds that had to be done.

"Fifteen," she said coldly, slashing a silver dagger she'd taken from a fallen enemy half-blood. Dipping her fingers into the enemy's blood, Thalia drew the number fifteen on the wall.

Then she continued on, weaving a path of absolute destruction in the castle.

Thalia's red aura never flickered. Instead, it grew stronger with every kill, and hatred filled her face by every second.

When she had reached number thirty, Thalia stopped and tilted her head to the left.

_You've done well, my daughter. Now, take your friends to someplace safe. Your time has not come yet._

_Thank you, Father_, Thalia thought to him. Then, she gasped as she realized what she'd just done. _Okay, Thalia, _she thought to herself. _Worry about that later and grab Jason and the others._

_Five minutes later_

"Thalia, do you know what you have done?" Nico grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall as the blessing of Ares faded from her.

Thalia buried her face in her hands. "I know," she moaned. "And I regret it."

Nico sighed and dropped her. "We have to move," he said. "I know a place where we can hide. Luke won't find us there."

_One hour later_

Calypso's Island was the last place that Thalia had expected, but Hermes helped them and Calypso was surprised by the amount of visitors. But she helped them all eagerly, making friends with Rachel immediately. After a little while, the group was content and healed and clean.

"Jason, help me," Thalia groaned, sitting down on the couch in Calypso's house. "I just killed thirty demigods in _cold blood_."

Jason didn't see any problem with that as he plopped down next to her. "Good."

"Jace!" Thalia stared at him in horror. "Okay, so, in Rome, do half-bloods do that?"

"All the time." Jason bit into an apple.

"Uh, okay. So, technically I didn't do anything wrong."

"No, you didn't."

"Gods, I need to talk to Artemis," Thalia muttered. "She'll know what to do."

And that was when her voice entered Thalia's mind, echoing around horribly.

"Jason, leave," Thalia said quietly, gripping her head.

"Thalia-" Jason began, but his sister shook her head.

"I'm not asking you. I'm ordering you." Thalia looked at him.

"Okay, okay," Jason said hastily and left.

"I'm sorry," Thalia yelled. "I couldn't help it-"

_You have nothing to apologize for, child._

"No, I can explain-"

_I do not think so. I fell in love once, too. And I know love is inexplicable._

Thalia fell to her knees. "Can you- I-I know that- that this is a huge favor to ask, but-"

_Thalia, _I cannot help you_. You are immortal on Calypso's Island, but once you leave, you will turn sixteen in less than five hours. The prophecies are yours, and being a Hunter of Artemis does not stop it. Therefore, I release you from your oath._

Thalia closed her eyes. "Yes, my lady."

_Goodbye, Thalia Grace._

She felt Artemis' presence leave her mind, and tears began falling fast from her face as the silver aura and circlet disappeared from her head.

"Jason, I need you," she whispered brokenly.

He seemed to hear her because Jason rushed to her side immediately, and he spoke meaningless but soothing words to her as she cried into his shoulder.

**ANGELIQUE: Well I certainly did like the Hunt's sense of humor.  
>KATHERINE: Thank you.<br>LUCIANA: But… doesn't that mean you just said I wasn't funny? I'm so sad.  
>KATHERINE: Join the hunters, Lucy. Join the hunters.<strong>


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**DAKOTA: I'm out of the hospital!  
>LUCIANA: *SMACK*<br>DAKOTA: You slap like a mortal.**

_You've changed._

**-Jason Grace to Thalia Grace**

"Thalia, I hate to say this, but you've changed." Jason said, touching her shoulder.

Thalia's blue eyes widened. "I- no, I- I couldn't have… could I…?" she shook her head. "No, I couldn't have…"

"Sister," he murmured. "Accept the truth."

A tear slid down her face. "I'm sorry, Jason."  
>Then her eyes lit up. "I can buy time, though. I'll stay in here, in this island, and you guys can go on mission to help the world. As long as I'm not sixteen years old, the prophecy won't and we'll be fine."<p>

Jason's eyes widened. "My, my, sister. You have just figured out the solution to our problems."

_Fifteen minutes later_

"First mission: Drew, Austin, Clarisse, Malcolm, Katie, Pollux, Nico, Lou Ellen, Christopher, Chris, Clovis, Butch and Jason…" Thalia rattled off the list of demigod names. "You all are going to destroy the base camp that Luke owns. Connor and Travis here have um, borrowed us some bombs we could use." Thalia announced. "Okay, Rachel, do you anything to say?"

Her eyes darted to everyone who was going on the mission. "Yes, Lieutenant. Only twelve will come back, so say your goodbyes, demigods."

Everybody started mumbling and Thalia swore she saw Connor and Travis trading bets on who would survive. Thalia, Jason and Nico pulled Rachel over.

"Do you know who's going to die?" Jason asked, his voice urgent.

Rachel nodded. "It's weird, looking at a person who's perfectly healthy and telling their going to die."

Ice fisted around Thalia's heart. "Tell me that Jason and Nico aren't going to die."

"They're not." Rachel shook her head. "But three other kids are."

"What do we do? Walk up to them and say "Hey, you're going to die, person."?" Thalia asked, her voice full of dark humor.

"Yeah."

"I don't know what to do," Thalia admitted. "Jace…"

"No, not even the Romans are that cruel." Jason looked away. "Nobody tells you that you're going to die when you're on a mission. Ever."

"So we don't do anything."

"No," Nico agreed. "We don't."

Rachel's eyes turned a little red. "_And see the world in endless sleep; the hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap_," she whispered. "It starts _now_."

_One day later_

"I hate sitting around and doing nothing while others go out and do life saving yet dangerous missions," Thalia muttered gloomily to Rachel, who was helping Calypso plant moonlace.

"Lieutenant, you _are_ doing something. You're breathing." Rachel attempted at a lame joke.

"Thanks, I feel _so_ much better," Thalia said sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

Thalia sighed and sat down. Then somebody dropped a glass bottle on her head.

"Ouch! Rachel, what was that for?" Thalia demanded, grabbing the bottle.

"I didn't do anything! It fell from the sky!" Rachel defended herself. "There's a note attached to that thing."

Thalia looked at it for fifteen seconds then handed it in Rachel. "What kind of English is this?"

"I'll read it to you. Um, it says "This bottle contains immortal liquid. You will not turn sixteen unless you wish it to be."." Rachel squinted.

"Do you think I should drink this?" Thalia asked, holding up the golden water to the sunlight.

Rachel shrugged. "Yeah. I don't feel anything bad coming from it, so…"

"If I get poisoned, it's your fault." Then Thalia drained the bottle.

If the daughter of Zeus was expecting pain, she wasn't going to get it any time soon. Instead, a very faint golden glow surrounded her, and Thalia grinned.

"Now, I can help with the prophecy."

"You better sacrifice some food to the gods tonight," Rachel said.

_Five hours later_

"Jason, you're back," Thalia hugged him. "Guess what?"

"Yeah?" Jason's electric blue eyes sparkled.

"I'm immortal… again, so I can come with you on missions. Did you succeed on it, by the way?"  
>Jason closed his eyes. "Um, you can't say that we <em>didn't<em> accomplish it… but you can't say we _did_ succeed either," he admitted. "About a hundred of the enemy half-bloods and monsters got away, including Luke and Ethan. They grabbed fifty of their best weapons and captured a few of our demigods. Then we bombed the place, incinerating about two hundred enemy demigods, monsters and a hundred normal weapons. But…" Jason shook his head sadly- "Austin found out that there were fifty more good demigods in that place, and…"

Thalia clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my gods. You're saying that we just killed fifty good half-bloods… oh, gods…"

Jason nodded slowly, picking at his lip. "Yeah…"

Thalia bit her lip. "But we took out more enemies than allies, so that's a good thing."

"Luke still has Pandora's _pithos_... by the way."

Thalia closed her eyes for a moment. "Okay. So… what should we do next?"

Jason thought for a second. "Um, I would suggest getting Pandora's Box back, but since we have no idea where the Hades Luke is, tracking the enemy demigods down in the next best option."

Seeing Thalia nod, Jason continued. "Okay. Let's decide on who's going first and then we'll plan it out. What about Lacy, Mitchell, Austin, Kayla, Mark, Sherman, Malcolm, Pollux, Christopher, Harley, Nyssa, Shane, Nico, you and me?" he suggested.

Thalia looked at him with a hard gaze. "You are putting the weakest and the strongest together in a group to battle Ethan Nakamura and Luke Castellan. Lacy is _ten years old_. Do you think she deserves death before her life even truly started?"

Jason looked away. "No. But everyone dies."

The daughter of Zeus sighed. "You're right. So after we find Luke and Ethan, we call in reinforcements and kill them, right?"

"Yeah. Let's go consult Rachel."

_Five minutes later_

"Really? Are you sure? Well, I can tell you something." Rachel closed her eyes for a few seconds. "If you send them to battle, only three of you will come back. And you're not one of them, Lieutenant," the mortal said softly.

Her eyes widened. "I'm immortal. I can't die."

"Yes, you can," Rachel said. "It's like being a huntress; you can fall in battle, but if you don't, you're immortal. But that's not the point. You're not going to die. You're going to be captured... by a certain somebody."

"Who-_ oh_." Thalia covered her mouth. "That's worse."

"Yeah, _him_. The mission will fail, and some of the demigods will escape and kill fifty enemy demigods and ten monsters. Jason will destroy like, half the amount of weapons. Meanwhile, you will be captured by Luke and… um, you don't want know." Rachel rubbed her eyes wearily.

"I don't think I do," Thalia muttered, her heart sinking. "I bet whatever you saw was way over PG 13."

"Ugh, gross, sister," Jason crossed his arms in disgust.

Thalia's eyes widened. "Not_ that_ kind, Jason."

Somebody snickered, Thalia, Jason and Rachel spun around to face Nico.

"So, change of plans, right?" he strolled towards them. "Why don't we send the fifteen people we don't know from the Aphrodite cabin, the four girls in the Ares cabin, the seven people in the Hephaestus cabin, and the three other people in the Hermes cabin, the two unclaimed half-bloods Jason, Laurel and ourselves?"

"You're suggesting that we send the people we don't know very well into battle and throw ourselves in with them," Thalia stated.

"Yeah," Nico shrugged.

"Uh oh, that's not going to end up well," Rachel muttered. "But it was better than what I saw before. If Thalia doesn't count."

"Do I die?" the girl asked a little nervously.

"No, you don't, Lieutenant. Much, much, much worse." Rachel squashed her eyeballs with her palm and flinched. "Oh, gods. Okay, um, you guys will kill seventy five enemy demigods and capture twenty five of the most dangerous monsters in Pandora's _pithos_. Unfortunately, Ethan grabs the Box at the last second and it stays there. Six out of the thirty will make it out; Jason, Nico, one each from the Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus and Hermes cabin-" Rachel's eyes flew open and she ran outside. A second later, the demigods heard the sound of somebody being sick.

"Oh, gods," Rachel returned a little while later, sipping some water. "Oh, gods, Thalia, just stay on the island, okay?"

"Why? What-" Thalia began, but Rachel shook her head.

"It's so horrible… just thinking about it makes me want to be sick again…" Rachel shuddered.

"I'll take care of her," Nico muttered to Jason and Thalia. "Daughter of Zeus, decide whenever or not to go."

"Wait," Rachel said suddenly. "Thalia, hold on."

"Yes?" the girl paused, looking at the red haired mortal.

"Don't believe anything Luke tells you," Rachel said, her gaze steady. "Even if Luke says that we're dead, even when he shows you that we're dead, don't believe him."

Thalia gave the girl a smile. "Battle advice, isn't it?"

_Thirty minutes later_

"If a person like Rachel threw up because she saw something, then naturally I would assume that it was seriously bad," Jason murmured. "Thalia…"

"I have to go, Jace," she said softly. "Besides, Rachel might be wrong."

Jason nodded. "I love you, sister."

Without thinking, she hugged him. "Thanks."

**KATHERINE: That random bottle of liquid was from DABOSS. :)**


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**CHRISTOPHER: *whispers to Jason* Is Austin dating Lucy?  
>JASON: … they're dating?<strong>

_Your presence still lingers here, and it won't leave me alone._

**-Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan.**

"What's the worse that can happen?" Thalia whispered Jason.

"Getting captured," Jason murmured back.

"Look," Thalia nudged her brother. "A demigod's patrolling. Let's go. I'll get him. You lead the others in," her head popped out of the bushes.

"On my count of three," Jason signaled to the others. "Three… two…. one…"

The attacking demigods burst out of the forest. Thalia immediately took on the five enemy half-bloods on patrol and the fifteen _dracanae_ blocking the door to the Empire State Building.

"I vaguely remember that security wasn't this tight," Jason yelled to Thalia, who was dealing with the monsters.

"It wasn't?" Thalia yelled back, slashing through ten _dracanae_ at once. Their dust flew inside the Box. She saw an Aphrodite girl fall onto the ground as an enemy demigod pierced her skin with his sword.

"It wasn't- Thalia, get the Pandora's _pithos_!"

Thalia darted behind her attacker, snatched the thing out of his grasp and roundhouse kicked him in the back. Unfortunately, he spun around and punched Thalia in the arm, making her stagger back before he passed out.

Jason hesitated for a second.

"Jace, just do it and go!" Thalia scrambled up to her feet, grabbed Pandora's Box, Aegis and her spear. Jason nodded and stabbed down, murdering the brainwashed demigod.

"Come on, Jason!" Thalia yelled, waving to him. "They've sounded the alarms already!"

Jace darted towards her, and they stopped once all the half-bloods piled in. As Jason counted quickly, he realized he'd lost three warriors.

"Okay," Thalia said, breathing hard. "Left or right?"

"Left," Jason answered, pressing against the wall. The others followed his example.

Thalia peeked down the corridor. "Clear," she murmured softly, and the demigods ran down the hall, being as silent as they could.

"We need to find chambers," Jason hissed to Thalia. "They might be there."

The demigods stopped in front of a door. "There!" Thalia whispered excitedly. "Let's go!"

The half-bloods opened the door, which lead to a huge room where the most dangerous monsters were training in.

"Aphrodite cabin, take on Antaeus!" Jason yelled, using a laser to skewer the Chimera, who shriveled into dust and it seeped into Pandora's Box, which Thalia had shoved into her backpack. "Ares, get the Aitheopian drakon! Hephaestus, the Bear twins! Hermes and the unclaimed, take care of Cerberus!"

Nico took care of Charybdis, and Thalia to the Clazmonian Sow.

_Thirty minutes later_

Just when Thalia thought things couldn't get any worse, the door burst open and fifty demigods plus Luke ran in.

The daughter of Zeus felt sick. Rachel was right.

"Jason, Nico, _RUN_!" she yelled, fighting the best she could, dodging a fiery lash of whip the Fury gave her and killed the monster.

"I won't!" Jason shot her a glance. "I'll stay with you!"

"I'M ORDERING YOU, JASON GRACE!" Thalia snarled, her eyes burning with fire as she took on the enemy demigods. "GO!"

The remaining five dashed out the door, Nico grabbing them and shadow traveling away. Thalia breathed a sigh of relief as all the monsters were defeated, shimmering to dust and drifting into her backpack. But then the enemy half-bloods surrounded her in a tight circle, and the daughter of Zeus closed her eyes in defeat, Aegis and her spear turning back into a silver bracelet and Mace canister.

"Take Pandora's Box and her weapons," a voice she knew so well ordered.

**ANGELIQUE: Just making this clear: The Shadow Quarters agent Jason is _not_ Jason Grace.  
>JASON: I wish I was, though.<strong>


	16. Missing Chapter Sixteen

**KATHERINE: Yes. Um. *cough* Sorry about chapter sixteen, but it was… rated mature, so it was shipped off to be its own fanfiction: Dark Angel. *cough* It's actually somewhere in the middle of rated teenager and rated mature, but closer to the mature side… so yeah. Sorry about that.**

**CHRISTOPHER: BOOO!**

**SHANE: Shut up.**

**CHRISTOPHER: Austin, are you dating Lucy?**

**AUSTIN: WHAT?**

**LUCIANA: WHAT?**

**DAKOTA: *cough***

**ANGELIQUE: *coughgigglesnortcough***

**LAUREL: Christopher, you're gross.**

**KAYLA: _Chapter sixteen_ was gross.**

**KATHERINE: Alright everybody SHUT UP!**


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**LUCIANA: *sings* Our fic is censored, our fic is censored, uh huh, uh huh, yah –  
>KATHERINE: Where's Dakota?<br>LUCIANA: I'm not sure. Where's Angel?  
>KATHERINE: … -_-|||<br>LUCIANA: … -_-|||  
>KATHERINE: … Sh*t.<strong>

_Only when I start to think about it…_

**-Thalia Grace**

It was ironic how Thalia wanted sleep earlier and now, she was wide awake and pacing in her room.

"Come on," she growled at the Iris Message. "Get- THROUGH!"

And it did. The shimmering image of Piper McLean curling her hair appeared.

"Thalia! What happened? You didn't- oh, dear Aphrodite," Piper sighed, setting the curler down. "Jace, you might want to come over and talk along with me."

"What's up, sister?"

"I can't stand another minute in this place. GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"Please?" she added, as an afterthought.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, leaning in to the Iris Message. Piper, miraculously, was suppressing a small smile.

"Emotionally, nothing's wrong. That's the problem." Thalia's frustrated scream was muffled by her pillow.

"Physically?" Jason prompted.

"Nothing's wrong, either," Thalia admitted quietly.

"Then what is?" Jason asked, getting the slightest bit frustrated.

Thalia took a deep breath. "If,_ for example_, if a kid from the bad side likes a kid from the good side and vice versa, would you think it's wrong? Like, _really_ wrong?"

"Yeah," Jason said slowly. "But I don't get the point you're making-"

Piper coughed and elbowed Jason not so subtly.

Jason gagged. "I get the point."

Thalia slumped. "Get me out of here," she pleaded, and the Iris Message faded.

But Thalia couldn't rely on others to help her. She was alone… forever.

_Ten minutes later_

"We have no choice. We'll take the strongest members of each cabin to rescue Thalia. That'll be Piper, Will, Malcolm, Katie, Pollux, Nico, Leo, Travis and me. We go in silently, we go out quietly. If anybody gets captured…" Jason trailed off.

"We still go on with the mission, grab Thalia and get out. She is the most important in our rebellion," Nico said, tracing the Greek alphabet on the black dirt.

"Rachel, what's going to happen to Thalia? Will she make it out?" Piper asked.

Rachel shook her head. "I can't See her. It's so foggy… I can't…"

"Does Thalia… d- die?" Jason stumbled over the last word.

Rachel shook her head again. "No. I can't… don't make me…"

Nico stood up. "It's okay, Rachel. We'll deal."

The redhead sat down shakily. "I can tell you that only Thalia is going to live after the final battle. I don't know about the others…" she bit her lip.

"Oh, gods," Jason muttered, looking worried.

_Five minutes later_

Thalia knew she couldn't depend on Jason, Nico and the others to save her. She had no choice but to try and escape by her own.

"Door," she said to herself, trying half heartedly to open it.

And it opened, revealing a corridor lit by a harsh white light.

Thalia's eyes widened, and she hardly believed her luck. Glancing around cautiously, she spied no booby traps, so she stepped out hesitantly.

A net dropped around her, and Thalia lunged to the side, rolling out of the tangled mess of rope before it could encase her.

Thalia breathed a sigh of relief just as a dart flew towards her, narrowly missing her shoulder.

_There has _got_ to be a deactivation button_, she thought wildly, pressing against the wall.

That was when another net dropped down on Thalia. She struggled vainly, making the net tighten with every move.

The alarm sounded, and the girl cussed. She had to get out, and _immediately_. Grabbing a bit of the net, Thalia whispered some magic words.

"_Enkavma_."

The ropes sizzled and burnt away. Thalia sprinted towards the exit, dodging more nets and darts.

_Fifteen minutes later_

Thalia knew this was Luke's security as soon as she saw the maze of mirrors.

_Mirrors_. Why did Luke have to target her weakest points? It brought up the unpleasant memories in which Annabeth, Luke and Thalia had met a Cyclops…

"No." Thalia said firmly to herself. "Don't think about it."

"Yes, Thalia," a voice echoed. "Don't think about it."

Luke. The girl closed her eyes painfully and brushed her hair back.

Thalia started walking left. Instead, she smashed right into a mirror and cursed.

"Let me out!" she demanded immediately.

"Sorry, Thalia. The door was sealed after you went in. There is no way out." His images bounced around and Thalia couldn't tell which the real one was until Luke's arms wrapped around her waist. The girl yelped loudly.

"Let me go!" she yelled, struggling.

Luke tilted his head. "Bound her," he ordered, and ropes tangled around the daughter of Zeus.

"No! Let- me- OUT!" Thalia screamed.

Luke only smirked.

**ANGELIQUE: F*ck you, you eternal son of a bitc –  
>DAKOTA: *amused* Do you think you'll look better as a cat or a bird?<br>ANGELIQUE: A bird, of course. But wait, what does that have to do with –  
>*CENSORED*<strong>


	18. Chapter Nineteen

**KATHERINE: And... apologies to all, but Chapter Eighteen was moved to _Dark Angel_, which is rated mature. You may skip the chapter and go onto -  
>LUCIANA: LT's destroyed disk Chapter Nineteen!<br>KATHERINE: *curses* Well, go fetch it!**

_All that I'm wanted for - that I'm wanting for - all that I can't ignore._

**-Thalia Grace**

"Rachel, I really don't think that drowning yourself in dirt will help with seeing the future."

"Close the door, please," the mortal kept her green eyes shut and continued rubbing shredded wet tea leaves onto her face.

Nico obliged. "Rachel, what are you trying to do?"

"See what's happening to Lieutenant Grace."

"I don't think we're going to win the rebellion without her," Nico said quietly.

"As long as we don't lose her brother, then we shall be fine," Rachel told him. "Luke has twenty five men left but armies of monsters. If Thalia doesn't crack, then we will win."

"But there's an enormous chance that she will," Rachel added after a moment.

_Five hours later_

Luke had left her alone – finally, but bound to the wooden chair with thick ropes. Though, soon enough, Thalia broke free, gasping. Then she ran blindly for the exit.

_Please, Father_, she thought. _Please. Guide me._

And he did. The girl ran down the corridors, unsure of what she was doing, but she got through eventually.

Sunlight. Fresh air. Thalia breathed deeply in her newfound freedom.

That was when an enemy demigod holding her weapons spotted her and raised the alarm. The daughter of Zeus spun around and attacked him.

"Tell Luke Castellan that Thalia Grace has escaped," she snarled, pressing her boot against his throat. "Understand?"

He swore at her, and she pressed harder until the boy choked.

"U- Understand-"

"Good," the girl interrupted. Satisfied, she slashed his cheek with her spear, leaving a (hopefully) permanent scar.

"Calypso's Island, here I come," Thalia muttered.

_Three hours later_

"Thalia! You're back!" Jason hugged his sister, his blue eyes a little wet.

"Yeah, with bad news, too," she muttered quietly. "Can I talk to you and Nico in private?"

"Sure, Thalia. What's up?" Nico popped up behind the Graces.

"I'm the only one that can open Pandora's _pithos_."

"What? How do you know that? What gave you that idea?" Jason glanced at his sister concernedly.

Thalia shook her head. "Luke…"

"_Him_," Jason snarled. "If I get my hands on that godsdamned son of Hermes-"

"You won't," Thalia assured him. "I'm the one in the prophecy, remember?"

**KATHERINE: Sometimes, I do wonder if you are a son of Hermes, rather than Apollo.  
>DAKOTA: *muses* Ah, yes... I'm of both, madam.<strong>


	19. Chapter Twenty

_Nobody can act like me__._

**-Thalia Grace**

Nighttime.

Thalia had washed, put on fresh bandages, digested some ambrosia and nectar and dressed in a _chiton_ that trailed on the ground, leaving her shoulders slightly bare. Her weapons were being washed and polished by Calypso. Thalia was very grateful for that. Her spear and shield were always coated with monster slime.

Thalia wasn't sleeping yet. She was helping Calypso plant moonlace, since all the others had went to sleep.

She was just plopping the last seeds in the dirt when a male voice behind her spoke.

"Hey, cousin."

Thalia spun around, her hand automatically reaching for her silver bracelet.

"Luke. How did you know where we-"

"Be careful about talking to yourself, Thalia," Luke smiled cheerfully. "People tend to overhear very often."

The girl cursed quietly. Of course. How could she be so stupid?

"What do you want?" Thalia glared at him.

Luke smirked, caressing her cheeks. "I'm offering a trade."

She tensed immediately. "Pandora's Box?"

"Yeah. I'll return Pandora's Box to you if you come to the Empire State Building with me at noon. No struggling, no nothing. Actually, I'm not giving you a choice. You have to come, unless you want Jason to get killed." Luke pushed Pandora's Box into her hands. "I have informants here, ones you'll never suspect, so if you try to tell anyone about this, I'll know, and Jason dies."

Thalia's jaw dropped, but then she took a deep breath and swallowed the gasp rising in her throat.

"I'll see you at noon. Meet you in that forest where we first met." Luke disappeared, taking Pandora's Box with him.

There was always a chance Luke was lying about his informant, but Thalia wasn't about to risk her brother's life. So…

She walked back to her room and started packing a few things into her gray backpack.

_One hour later_

"Thalia, sister. What are you doing? Planning a trip?"

The daughter of Zeus spun around, her eyes calm, though inside, she was terrified. "Just packing in case we have to make a quick getaway. You should, too."

Thalia must have inherited her mother's acting skills.

"You're right. It's always best to be prepared," Jason smiled at her.

"Yeah. But I'll never be prepared for what's going to happen next." Thalia stared sadly at the rising sun.

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked, frowning.

"My prophecy, the war," Thalia answered quickly. "I just can't do it. If I do something you think is bad or whatever…"

"Just please, remember it's for you. It's to protect you. If I lie, if I open Pandora's Box… it's for saving you. Don't forget. Don't ever believe that I don't love you anymore, Jason." Thalia swallowed back some tears and the lump stuck in her throat. "Two things: Remember that I'm really sorry and I'll always love you."

"Thalia… what's wrong? You're acting like you're saying goodbye." Jason moved towards his sister, but she took a few steps back to the door.

"Nothing," she said, her blank mask sliding into her face. "I need to talk to Rachel. I'll be back," Thalia promised. Then she shut the door in her brother's face.

Tears fell down her face. "I'm really sorry, Jason," she whispered. Then, she left a note for Jason on her desk and left.

_Five hours later_

Thalia sat down in the forest, warming herself in front of the fire. Tears glittered in her eyes as she traced her name in the dirt.

"Forgive me, Jason," she murmured. "I'm doing this for you."

She hoped that he won't come after her. Luke made no promises that Jason won't be captured. But at least the demigods got Pandora's Box. Vaguely, Thalia wondered if it was worth.

"Thalia." A cold hand touched her bare shoulder.

The girl tensed. "Luke. Do you have Pandora's Box?"

"It's sent to Calypso's Island already." Luke caressed her cheek.

Thalia closed her eyes. "Do you swear on the River Styx?"

"I swear on the River Styx." There was humor in Luke's voice.

Thalia passed a hand over her fire and it went out with a puff. "I'm coming."


	20. Chapter Twenty One

_I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap._

**-Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan**

"Piper." Jason slumped down into a chair.

"What's up, Jason? You're upset." the daughter of Aphrodite tilted her head.

"Thalia. She…"

"Did you guys have a fight?" Piper asked concernedly.

"No, worse. She left…"

"Where did Thalia go?"

Jason said nothing and handed her the note.

**_LUKE HAS PANDORA'S BOX. I'M GOING TO GET IT BACK. _****_I DON'T WANT TO EXPLAIN. DON'T COME AFTER ME._**

**_ -THALIA_**

"Oh, no," Piper gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Jason murmured, his eyes stinging as though somebody had poured lemon juice in them. "She told us to stay, but I don't want to."

"Listen to your sister," Piper told him. "She knows what she's doing. If you follow her, it may cause her more damage."

Jason had a pained look on his face. "I need some air," he said, as he threw open the door and ran outside.

_Thirty minutes later_

"¿Qué vas a hacer con ella, señor?" a mortal girl servant asked Luke.

"You'll see," he replied. Thalia glared daggers at the girl, even though she had no idea what the girl was talking about.

"Thalia," Luke chided, "Remember your oath."

"Glaring wasn't part of it."

"It was," he said simply. "Search her," Luke ordered to the girl. Thalia managed not to scowl as the mortal rummaged through her backpack.

"A set of clothing, toiletries, pepper spray, jewelry." The girl looked up to Luke.

Thalia hoped that Luke wouldn't notice that she brought her weapons here.

But Luke knew her too well, seeing that she was praying as Thalia's fingertips were touching one another, her head bowed. He smirked.

"Give me the bracelet and the Mace canister."

Thalia's heart sank. "I-"'

"_Thalia_," Luke chided her.

The daughter of Zeus picked up her weapons and tossed it to Luke, her face forced blank.

"Swear on the River Styx that you will do everything I say." Luke handed Thalia's weapons to the girl, and the mortal scurried away.

"Except slaughtering or betraying any innocent or good people and opening Pandora's Box."

"That's a lot to ask for, daughter of Zeus." Luke tilted his head, smiling pleasantly.

Thalia gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowed. "It's three only."

"Fine. Now, swear." The boy looked like he was debating whenever or not to smirk.

"I swear on the River Styx." Thalia bowed her head.

"Then come along," Luke said, the smile turning cold on his face.

_Thirty minutes later_

"You're not serious." Nico paced around the room.

"When has Jason been not serious?" Piper asked tiredly, yawning.

"Exactly my point- HOLY ZEUS!" Jason yelped.

Words shaped from the sudden mist that drifted in the window.

"_There is no way to get your sister back. She has sworn on the River Styx._" Rachel read those words fearfully.

Jason slashed angrily at the mist message, and it disappeared. "Damn him."

"Luke may have been lying," Will suggested half heartedly.

"We don't know yet," Clarisse reminded him.

"Even if we did and Luke was lying about Thalia, I don't think we'll be able to penetrate through the Empire State Building's defenses," Malcolm muttered.

"There's one thing I don't really get: Why does Luke want Thalia and not Jason or Nico or any other person?" Katie asked.

Jason, Nico, Piper and Rachel exchanged dark glances.

"We don't know," Nico said finally. "Perhaps she's the easiest one to get to, or maybe it's her past with him."

"Or maybe because she's in love," Piper said quietly. "Whatever the reason, we don't know."  
>The demigod counselors and the mortal girl fell silent.<p>

"What do we do, then?" Pollux asked, breaking the silence.

Jason laughed darkly. "Find Luke and kill him."

"We won't succeed," Rachel whispered. "Thalia's under his control. You'll have to kill her to kill Luke."

Jason threw the door open and ran outside. Piper and Leo were right behind him.

"That… complicates things," Lou Ellen admitted after a long silence.

Travis crossed his arms. "We'll get out of it." But he didn't sound so confident.

Clovis yawned. "Right. So… I'll just sleep now, okay?"

Before any of the demigods could slap him, he started snoozing.


	21. Chapter Twenty Two

_I'm at war with the world and they try to pull me into the dark._

**-Thalia Grace**

_One week later_

Thalia blasted another building down with her lightning impatiently. "Luke, it's done. Can I go to lunch?" she demanded.

Luke didn't reply. Instead, he crossed his arms and studied her curiously. "It's strange how you're fine with destroying the world."

Thalia gave him a faint smirk. "When a person is controlling you, you just have to deal with it, because you know that they can do worse if you don't cooperate."

Luke smiled and tilted his head. "You're right. I can do a lot worse," he said, caressing her cheek. "Like making you kill mortals instead of blasting empty warehouses into debris."

Thalia shoved his hand away playfully. "Hey, I've got no problem with destroying ugly square buildings that are empty."

"Good, because I've got tons of them lying around."

"Thanks a lot; I _never_ get tired of this," Thalia muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you just pick up a huge wrecking ball and smash the thing into pieces like in that digital game your monsters like playing?"

"Because I don't feel like it," Luke smirked and tried to tie her hair into a braid. She swatted his hand away.

"This feels so weird; I'm having a conversation with you, my archenemy, and it's not about my glorious visions of throwing you off the Empire State Building." Thalia attempted half heartedly to push Luke away when he reached for her again.

"I know, right?" he kissed her lips gently and pulled away.

The two demigods lapsed into a comfortable silence.

_Ten minutes later_

"Jace, it'll be okay." Piper placed her hands on his shoulders, massaging them softly.

"No, it's not," Jason said angrily. "Now Luke has her under control, he can do anything he needs to. Luke wants power; Thalia has it."

Leo shuddered. "That's dangerous. I don't want to be Luke's enemy in battle, much less Thalia's."

"We can't do anything," Jason sighed quietly. "I don't want to admit it, but I think we just lost the war."

"Don't say that," Piper chided immediately. "We may still have hope."

"While Elpis is in the Box," Leo muttered, his voice not quite audible.

"And I don't think it's going to stay inside it," Jason glared at the sea, throwing a rock and disturbing the peaceful waters.

_One hour later_

"So, now, you're like my new weapon," Luke said cheerfully. "Operation Omega is almost reaching the first quarter of the procedure."

"What's "Operation Omega"?" Thalia questioned quickly.

"Mmm, not telling you." Luke whipped out a cell phone and dialed a number.

"Nakamura, check on the armory. How much supplies do we have left?" Luke glanced at Thalia, who was raising her eyebrows at him.

The son of Hermes wasn't satisfied by his answer as he frowned impatiently. "Fifty? We have to replenish our numbers, then. Prepare twenty three demigods for raiding."

Ethan had probably dissatisfied Luke again, because he glared at the debris. "What do you _mean_ we don't have twenty three half-bloods to spare? I need twenty three demigods for raiding. _Now_." Luke snapped his cell phone shut with a small _smack_.

"You only have fifty demigods alive," Thalia told the male quietly.

"Yes, I know that," he said flippantly. "Do I care? Let's see, _no_."

"You have twenty eight half-bloods left to secure the building. Perfect moment for my demigods to attack." Thalia smiled at him.

"Yes, but I don't think they will; I sent them a message." Luke tossed her dark locks around playfully. "Do you know anywhere that stores magic weapons?"

Thalia thought for a moment and hesitated. "Yeah, I do."

"Where is it?" Luke asked her, his eyebrows raised.

"Camp Half-Blood."

Luke smacked his forehead and shut his eyes. "Right, forgot to raid that place. But… do you really think that the Big House has large arsenals of weapons?"

"No," Thalia admitted. "But, _however_, the Ant Hill does."

He stared at her for a moment.

"I am _so_ glad to have you on my side," Luke said slowly.

"I'm cute. What can I say?" Thalia laughed, trying to ignore the empty feeling that built up inside her chest.

Why couldn't she have thought of that first and told Jason and Nico?


	22. Chapter Twenty Three

_You don't know how you betray me._

**-Thalia Grace to Luke Castellan**

"Big House," Luke called to the other demigods. "Spread out."

"Take the attic- Aphrodite's scarf is in there, lots of other junk," Ethan told Luke.

Ethan nodded. "Let's go."

"Take only the useful things," the other male ordered impatiently. "Hurry up."

Thalia glanced around. "Nothing except for this." She stuffed Aphrodite's scarf inside her empty backpack. "Wait a second-"

Luke and Thalia exchanged looks.

"We can take the celestial bronze junk-" Thalia suggested.

"And melt them into new weapons by the Hephaestus kids," Luke breathed. "Perfect."

_Five minutes later_

"You poisoned me with this, didn't you?" Thalia picked up a scimitar. Dried green acid clung to the bended knife.

Luke shrugged carelessly. "I had to. It's the reason why you're living right now."

The girl handed it to him. "That poison may be useful," she said.

_Ten minutes later_

"This sucks," Thalia complained. "Can we leave our backpacks here?"

The group had finished raiding the cabins, and their bags were overflowing.

"That's a good idea," Luke admitted. "How about twenty of us go in the forest and three of the others guard the backpacks?"

"Cool." The demigods dropped the bags.

"So where is the Ant Hill?" Luke asked Thalia.

"Left of Zephyros Creek, somewhere around the oak trees," she answered reluctantly. "Myrmekes guard the entrance, so…"

"We have to kill them. We have no choice," Luke ended. "Scoop out the acid; nothing else."

_Fifteen minutes later_

"Thalia, Nakamura, let's go!" Luke yelled. "The others- kill the monsters!"

The three slipped into the caves. A faint glow emitted from the right, so the demigods entered the tunnels.

"I hate ants," Ethan grumbled, cutting one open with his sword.

Thalia, Luke and Ethan entered a room with ant larvae hanging from the ceiling. The ceiling to floor was covered with armor, gems, gold coins, jewelry, musical instruments and weapons, all glowing like the way magical objects did. Thalia's jaw dropped; so did Luke's and Ethan's.

"We're going to have to make trips to take all the items," Thalia uttered unnecessarily.

_Ten minutes later_

"We're going to get her back. Time to attack the Empire State Building," Jason called. "Drew, Lacy, Mitchell, Piper and Austin- get the guards. We'll raid the place; grab the weapons and Pandora's Box. GO!"

And the half-bloods attacked. The ten enemy demigods fell, and Drew only got a twisted wrist.

"Get in, quick!" Austin urged them inside.

"Armory" Butch mouthed, pointing to the right corridor. They dashed towards the room and threw the door open.

"Gods, Luke and Ethan have less than fifty weapons," Austin breathed.

"Okay, Drew, Lacy, Mitchell, Piper, Austin, Kayla, Will, Clarisse, Mark, Sherman, Malcolm, grab the weapons and get back to Calypso's Island- don't wait for us. Katie, Miranda, Pollux, Lou, Christopher, Harley, Jake, Leo, Nyssa, Shane, Chris, Connor, Travis, Clovis, aim for the training room- grab Pandora's Box, kill monsters and _go_. Nico, Butch and I will assassinate whatever fifteen demigods left. Now split!" Jason ordered.

_Three minutes later_

The first group was done in three minutes- there wasn't much to take. Austin accidently pressed the alarm, causing bells to ring all over the place.

"Run!" Clarisse screeched- an unusual thing for the daughter of Ares.

_One minute later_

"P-Procrustes!" Katie screamed. "S-Scylla, too!"

"We can sure use Percy right now!" Chris yelled. "Gods- why's Talos here?"

"Is it defective?" Christopher yelped as Talos stabbed at his sister's foot.

"No!" Miranda shot thick, poisonous tree roots at Scylla's many heads, bounding about fifteen of them together in a flailing bunch. "Katie, Pollux, a little help here, please?"

"Okay!" Travis yelled. "Katie, Miranda, Pollux, get Scylla; Lou, Chris, Connor, Clovis and I will take on Procrustes; Hephaestus cabin- to Talos! Go with the flow!"

_Ten seconds later_

"NOOO! WAIT! I TAKE THAT BACK! DON'T GO WITH THE FLOW!" Travis screamed as Procrustes grabbed his foot and yanked.

"AHHH!" Connor was flung to the wall, and there he slumped.

"I think my arm's broken," he said weakly.

_Five minutes later_

Butch, Nico and Jason were also having problems.

"The headquarters are… EMPTY?" Butch exclaimed.

"Let's do a sweep of the area," Jason glanced suspiciously at the beds.

"Nobody's here," Nico muttered. "We'll just go and help Travis' group."

"Come on," Butch headed out the door.


	23. Chapter Twenty Four

_My voice would be heard today._

**-Thalia Grace**

"We have to stay here for tonight," Austin said. His face was exhausted. "We can't reach the sea- and it's nighttime already. If we can't find Pandora's Box, then we'll just have to leave it alone with Luke."

"Austin's correct," Jason called. "Austin, Kayla, Will- can you heal the injuries?"  
>The Apollo campers nodded tiredly. "We'll try," Will murmured.<p>

"Venus- I mean, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Athena, go," Jason ordered.

_One hour later_

"I told you so," Thalia said smugly.

"But, no matter. We're going underground," Luke said, glaring at the collapsed base. "Plus-"

"Pandora's _pithos_," Ethan yelped as though he was hit on the head. "Oh, _Nemesis_-"

Thalia and Luke shot him a look.

"Do you really think that I'm stupid enough to hide the Box in our base, Nakamura?" Luke glared daggers at Ethan.

"No- no," Ethan stammered. "What I meant was-"

"Shut up," Thalia snapped, trying desperately to hide her fear. _No, no, no, _please_,_ she thought desperately.

"I know how to open Pandora's Box."

Thalia looked away, tears stinging in her eyes.

"What?" Luke spun around immediately.

"The keys of Hades. The daughter of Zeus knows about it, doesn't she?" Ethan sneered at the girl.

"Save it," she snarled.

"Tell me about the keys," Luke demanded.

_Five hours later_

"_O Zeu_ _kai alloi theoi_!" Rachel screamed and sat right up in her bed. "Calypso, are you here?"

"Yes, Rachel?" the daughter of Atlas asked, her voice muffled under her bed sheets.

"I need to Iris-Message the demigods, now!" the mortal told her, her eyes wild.

"Okay, here." Calypso's head popped out of her sheets and the girl tossed Rachel a golden coin.

_Ten minutes later_

"O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering," Rachel took a deep breath. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, child of Rome."

Nothing happened. The drachma disappeared into the mist.

"Please," she added.

The vapor vanished, and dread pulled at Rachel.

"Hypnos," she decided, finally, "Send my message to Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, please."

_Keys. _The word tugged at his mind. _Keys. KEYS. KEYS KEYS KEYS KEYS KEYS KEYS KEYS KEYS KEYS KEYS KEYS KKKEEEYYYSSS!_

"Ahh!" Nico's eyes flew open. "Oh, my gods! Drew, Lacy, Mitchell, Jason and Piper, get up!" he hissed.

The children of Aphrodite and son of Zeus woke immediately, their eyes alert and sharp. "Yes?"

"Luke found out how to open Pandora's Box without Thalia's help," he gritted his teeth. "The keys of Hades are in the Underworld."

"And Luke's using the Underworld as a beast camp," Jason paled.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Nico pulled the demigods by the shirts.

"Hold it," Piper said. Her face was translucent in the moonlight. "Why do you need Aphrodite?"

"Because," Jason said calmly, "We have to use charmspeak to get inside the monster camp."

_Ten minutes later_

"What else do you know about the keys?" he leaned into her face.

"I…" she gasped for air. "I… won't tell you."

Luke pushed the sword against Thalia's throat. "Try again."

Thalia closed her eyes and bit down on her lip, trying not to scream. Tears trailed down her cheeks.

"The location." Luke's voice was soft.

"Even if I did know I swore on the River Styx that you can't make me betray my friends," Thalia answered weakly.

"Exactly why I'm using _this_ method-" Luke slashed down on her right arm- "To make you talk."

Thalia gripped her arm with her left hand, trying to soothe the pain. Her eyes were tightly shut.

"_Sou z__i__t__ao__e__na t__i__n tele__f__ta__i__a for__a_, Thalia." There was a dangerous edge in his voice.

"_Kali_," Thalia said quietly.

Luke snapped his fingers. "Opps, Jason's dead."

"If you kill Jason then you don't get the location!" Thalia yelled, her eyes scared.

"If you give me the location then whenever he's alive or not wouldn't matter," Luke told the daughter of Zeus. "If you give me the keys, then Jason can be resurrected."

Thalia took a deep breath and hesitated, knowing that the sentence that she will say next will change her life.


	24. Chapter Twenty Five

_You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape._

**-Luke Castellan to Thalia Grace**

"This is not a great plan," Drew whispered.

"We just walk right into the enemy's lair and say "Hey, can we please look through your stuff because we want to find a weapon that can raise the dead?". It's easy, simple and foolproof," Lacy answered.

"Yeah, and Jason and I get to hide behind the Styx while you guys get to do everything," Nico grumbled. "Drew, get the Cyclopes, Lacy, the _dracaenae_, Mitchell, the empousai, Piper, the hellhounds. Do your best."

Piper grinned confidently at Jason and Nico as the children of Aphrodite walked towards the monsters.

"Hello," Piper said to the hellhounds. "Be nice, boys. Now, do me a favor and attack the empousai, please? Don't stop until you die. Good doggies." She stepped back, smiling strangely as the monsters began fighting each other.

"Nice, Piper," Jason called, flipping a drachma in the air repeatedly. "But, uh, I think you better go help Lacy." The drachma suddenly turned into a laser and Jason started incinerating _dracaenae_.

Drew, Lacy, Mitchell and Piper ran back towards the River Styx. "It's done," Drew announced.

"Good." Nico snuck a cautious look at the Cyclopes, which were beating the _dracaenae_ mercilessly with their clubs. "The armory's next to Tartarus," he added, and they headed towards it.

"I hear…" Piper shook her head as they walked close to the pit. "I hear screaming."

"Me, too," Mitchell murmured. "What about you, Lacy?"

The little Aphrodite girl nodded, and so did Drew.

"What?" Jason looked at the Aphrodite campers. "I don't hear anything."

"I don't, either," Nico muttered. "Let's keep going- the pit's giving me the creeps."

"No," Piper glared at him with sudden ferocity. "The gods are down there."

Then she started walking towards Tartarus.

"Piper," Jason dashed quickly in front of the daughter of Aphrodite and took her hands. "We can't do this. Tartarus is too dangerous, and our mission here is to find the keys of Hades. We'll help the gods later, okay? Right now, we need to go. Come on."

Piper's eyes changed from brown to blue. Her breath caught. "O- okay," she managed out, hyperventilating.

_Three minutes later_

"Even though you kill Jason I won't help you," Thalia said, her eyes narrowed, expecting Luke to falter.

Luke laughed. "I knew you would say that as soon as you figured out that you could bring the dead back to life. Do you really think I don't have a Plan B? A Plan C?"

Thalia swallowed. "I thought that was going to throw you off course. What's your Plan B?"  
>Luke's smile widened. "Torturing you. Don't worry, it won't hurt."<p>

Thalia took a small step back.

Grabbing her wrists faster than the speed of light, he shoved her against the wall.

Thalia stared into Luke's turquoise eyes. "You can't make me do anything," she said defiantly.

"Oh, yeah? You want to test me?" A playful smirk graced his lips.

"No," the girl answered quickly. "But-"

Luke cut her off by pressing his lips against hers.

"The location?" he murmured.

Thalia took deep breaths. "No."

He kissed her again. Luke seemed to be suppressing laughter as Thalia gasped for air.

"You're using the location as an excuse, I swear," Thalia told him, leaning against the wall.

"But I have the faintest feeling that you're enjoying it," Luke smirked.

_Fifteen minutes later_

"Here," Nico said, reaching for the sword. "A key is inside- now we have to find the other two. One's in Tartarus and the other one's in the Isles of Blest."

"How do you know?" Drew asked.

"Because I can sense them," Nico answered. "We'll go to the Isles of Blest first. We'll come back for the key in Tartarus later on."

_Thirty minutes later_

"This is a beautiful place," Lacy breathed. She reached for a berry hanging on the bushes. Mitchell snatched her wrist back.

"One bite and you'll stay here. Forever," he added.

"Let's carry on," Piper said hastily. "Nico, where is the key?"  
>The son of Hades pointed to the top of the isle. "That glimmering point there? It's a cave. Inside, there's a crystal that holds one of the keys of Hades. But nobody dares to take it, since it's guarded by a hellhound."<p>

"Wait. The spirits are _dead_. Why would they-?" Drew began.

"They can turn into vapor if they are killed again," Nico pointed out. "Let's hurry, we don't have much time."

Nico had no idea how right he was.

_Five minutes later_

"Nakamura. Report," Luke ordered into the phone.

Thalia leaned against the wall, her eyes closed and arms crossed. She couldn't believe what she'd just done.

Luke cussed and glared at the floor. "The first key was already taken by Thalia's demigods and now they're heading for the second key? What the Hades?"

Luke paused, and then tapped his foot impatiently on the ground. "Well, then bomb the place. I don't care if we destroy the keys; just don't let Thalia's demigods resurrect Annabeth or Perseus."

He sighed after a moment. "Yes, I know that the monsters will be killed, but so would the gods in Tartarus. Do it, Nakamura." Luke flipped his phone shut.

"You- you're going to kill them," Thalia stated, her eyes flying open.

"I'm going to destroy the keys," Luke said, smirking. "And, if we're lucky, Drew, Lacy, Mitchell, Jason and Nico."

"I should have never, ever, told you the location," Thalia muttered, her emotions flying all over the place.

_Fifteen minutes later_

"RUN!" Drew screamed, throwing her arms over her head to protect herself from the debris.

The demigods had barely reached the cave when the Underworld started exploding. Piles of debris fell, and the half-bloods were panicking.

"Nico, shadow travel us to Calypso's Island!" Lacy shouted.

Then the ceiling collapsed.

_Ten minutes later_

"The oath is gone," Thalia smiled with huge satisfaction.

"What do you mean, the oath is gone?" Luke demanded.

"I swore on the River Styx," Thalia's smile turned into a smirk. "And there is no River Styx anymore."

Snatching her weapons from the desk, she hurled a bolt of lightning at Luke. It missed, of course, but it provided the best distraction as the daughter of Zeus flung open the door and raced outside.


	25. Chapter Twenty Six

_Lost from within, pursing the end._

**-Thalia Grace**

Calypso's Island was chaos.

"So do you think that Jason, Nico and the Aphrodite children just ran off to the Underworld without us?" Clarisse demanded. "You- filthy- traitor!"

Chris wrestled her back. "Clarisse, calm down," he said soothingly. "Kayla, Will, Mark, Sherman, take care of the traitors. Kill them."

Austin, Butch, Christopher glared daggers before they were led off by the other campers. Fuming, Clarisse lashed out at a tree.

"Jason and Nico are probably dead, and Thalia's trying to survive under torture by Luke. Do you seriously think that we can still win this, Chris?" Her voice shook slightly as Clarisse turned to him.

"Yes," Chris said determinedly. "Don't worry, daughter of Ares."

_Three hours later_

"Here we are," Nico said tiredly. "It's midnight on the isle, but why are demigods running around and…?"

"Jason! Nico!" Kayla screamed. "Oh my gods!"

"Kayla, are you alright?" Piper asked, concernedly.

"If you count finding out that Butch, Christopher and my half-brother were traitors are okay, then, yeah, I'm fine," Kayla muttered bitterly. "Austin, Butch and Christopher are getting executed in the morning. Clarisse, Will, Malcolm, Katie, Leo, Travis and Clovis are checking the other demigods now, see if they're traitors too. Do you know what happened to Thalia?" Kayla asked.

Piper shook her head. "No idea," she admitted, "But we'll find out, like always."

"Aphrodite children, take control of the island," Nico ordered. "Piper, organize the campers, please."

The Aphrodite cabin nodded and left.

_One hour later_

"Operation Omega, part two starts _now_," Luke spoke into his phone.

"_Take the monsters and let them destroy everything, correct?_" Ethan asked.

"Start from here. Demolish the Empire State Building with atomic bombs or something. The mortals who can see through the Mist will have nowhere to run. Take the demigods underground and start bombing."

_Three hours later_

_Okay, _Thalia thought dazedly. _Luke's destroying the world. The start of a new Golden Age. Okay. Now, go back to Calypso's Island. Run like Hades._

Then, something smashed her onto the ground from behind her. Thalia closed her eyes in defeat.

"Hello again, Thalia. Perhaps you need a lesson on how to escape from a place," Luke's sweet voice sounded in her ear as he tugged her back into the building. Then, he injected something into her, and Thalia blacked out.

_Three days later_

"I know you're awake." Luke's cool lips contacted her jaw, and Thalia suspected that he was leaning over her.

She kept her eyes closed.

"I'm going to bring you news, and you're not going to like it." Thalia felt her hair being brushed out of her face.

"Asia's almost destroyed; now my monsters are taking China. We're at Hong Kong, almost done. Just have to take out South Horizons and they're coming back here to America." Luke's fingers trailed down from her shoulders to her arm, and Thalia held back a shiver. "Want to come?" he drawled, voice inviting.

"No, thanks," Thalia breathed, her voice softer than she'd intended it to be. Her eyes were still closed. "But if you could leave me in peace I would very much be grateful."

Luke laughed quietly. "The mortals are panicking. The Mist can't work so perfectly, so half the smothering remains of the world are revealed to Greek mythology. Earth's population is reduced by a quarter, and the people who can see through the Mist have evacuated to underground. Not sure exactly where, but I'll find out soon."

Thalia controlled her quickened breathing. "You wouldn't. Are you forgetting _my _sixty demigods? All I have to do is send a fast Iris-Message and your Operation Omega will stop immediately."

"Really?" Luke's lips moved down to her throat. "Can they get out of Calypso's Island?"

Thalia attempted to push him away, her eyes still tightly shut. "Yes, they can, unless-" she stopped midsentence.

"Unless Calypso's actually helping you," she whispered.

"You got it finally," Luke caressed her cheeks. "Congrats, daughter of Zeus."


	26. Chapter Twenty Seven

_I'll say I love you, but then I'll have to kill you._

**- Luke Castellan to Thalia Grace**

"She's cast an enchantment around the island!" Piper screamed, waving her dagger frantically at the invisible wall at the beach. "Now we can't get out!"

"The four boys from Aphrodite and the other seven from Hephaestus are down!" Will shouted. "We have to kill Calypso to break the spell!"

"Jason and Nico are working on it," Clarisse yelled. "Now go help them!"

_One hour later_

"We did it," Jason breathed heavily. "We actually did it."

Rachel stepped out from the debris. "Yes, but Drew and a couple of others are dead and gone," she pointed out. "We have to get back to the mortal world immediately. From there we'll find somewhere to hide."

"I agree with you," Lacy said, her eyes wide. "Let's go."

_Ten minutes later_

"Jason?" Thalia hissed into the Iris-Message. "Jason, are you there?"

"Thalia!" her brother looked immensely relieved. "What- I thought you were-" he turned suspicious. "Aren't you supposed to be controlled by Luke or something?"

"Not anymore," she said slyly. "When Luke decided to destroy the Underworld, he forgot that he would also destroy the River Styx."

"Hmm, yeah. Where are you?" Jason asked.

"Underground somewhere. How did you get out of Calypso's Island?"

"We broke the enchantment." Jason grinned. "What's Luke planning now?"

Thalia sighed. "I'm glad you asked. Asia is destroyed and now his monsters are heading back to South America. I'm stuck here with him. Hey, you know that the mortals who can see through the Mist are also underground? Might want to do a little scouting and find them."

"Okay. Now-"

The Iris-Message vanished just as Thalia felt the biggest earthquake she'd ever experienced in her entire life.

_ Luke was right to go underground, _the girl thought dazedly.

_Three hours later_

"This earthquake has been happening for exactly three hours and fifteen minutes," Malcolm reported. "The immense shaking stopped two hours and five minutes ago, leaving a slight quake every fifteen seconds-"

"Shut up, Malcolm," Lacy snapped. "We don't even know what's happening right now."

"Lacy, if we just stay underground then we will be fine," Jason assured her. "No worries, kid."

She didn't look so sure, but she nodded.

_Five minutes later_

"It stopped," Jason breathed. "Lacy, Kayla, Sherman, Malcolm, Miranda, Pollux, Nico, Lou, Shane, Connor, Clovis and I will go check aboveground. The rest of you, stay here," he ordered. "Clarisse, you're in charge."

_One minute later_

"Oh my gods," Lacy gasped.

America was three quarters destroyed. Mortals were screaming and running around. The Empire State Building had collapsed, and the demigods could see hundreds dead on the streets. The Bank of America Tower had been squashed flat by the debris, and the top of the Chrysler Building had snapped off. Malcolm cringed at the sight.

"Oh my gods," Lacy repeated. "Why- how-?"

A sudden thought struck Nico, and he gulped. "Does anybody have Annabeth's shield?"

"The reflective one?" Malcolm pulled out a slightly dented object. "A little broken, but otherwise fine."

"Lend it to me." Nico grabbed the shield and did a three sixty.

A moment later, he groaned.

"What is it?" Jason asked urgently.

"That was exactly what I felt," Nico muttered. "Luke's shifted the continents. Hello Pangaea," the son of Hades whispered.

_Thirty minutes later_

"What have you done?" Thalia stared at the ground, her arms bounded to the seat in the helicopter. "How did you-?" she shook her head in horror.

Luke smiled darkly. "Welcome to the new Golden Age, Thalia. In five minutes, bombs will drop on this place and whatever is left of America will be gone."

_Thalia, I see you._

"Ahh!" the girl writhed in her seat. "What the Hades-"

_We're tracking you; you're on air, somewhere near where the Empire State Building used to be. Hold on, Nico and I are trying to get to-_

Thalia panicked. "Oh my gods, Jason, get the Hades out of here! Luke is going to-"

He leveled a dagger at her throat, his eyes plainly curious and amused. "What's going on?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow.

Thalia started breathing through her mouth. Hoping that Jason could somehow hear her, she mouthed her message.

_Luke's going to bomb the place. RUN LIKE HADES. Go to Asia, Luke's destroyed that place already-_

_ Sister, unless you can't see it, Luke has moved the continents back together, recreating Pangaea. I don't why he did that,_ but_. We know that Earth's land is all scrunched up together in one piece, making it easier to target. There is no Asia anymore._

Thalia's heart sank. _Okay, send Rachel a message and see if you guys can find the remaining mortals-_

Jason cut in. _Uh, negative; we've got problems-_

Luke's dagger touched Thalia's throat, and her attention snapped back to him.

"Sending troops down to underground," Luke glanced at the daughter of Zeus, inviting her to tell him what happened.

"Boring conversation anyway," she said quickly. _Jason, you've got company, _she yelled in her mind.


	27. Chapter Twenty Eight

_I can't control myself._

**-Thalia Grace**

"Get underground!" Lacy screamed.

"Can't- Ethan Nakamura is storming inside with a couple of MI5 agents!" Kayla reported.

"They're on us like we're holding Class A drugs!" Clarisse dodged a bullet.

"Do you know what Class A drugs _are_?" Malcolm yelled, using his shield to deflect a javelin.

"Don't think she does!" Katie shouted, dashing into the scene, gripping her knife tightly.

Rachel appeared out of the mess. "Guys, let's get to Asia- NICO, WHERE THE HADES ARE YOU?"

"Right here," the son of Hades appeared. "Jason's taken Lou, Harley, Jake, Leo, Nyssa, Shane, Chris, Connor, Travis and Clovis to Russia, we'll do the same. Everybody, hold on!"

_Ten minutes later_

Thalia crossed her arms.

"I'm going to ask you something. Am I allowed to?"

"Of course, Your Worshipfulness," Luke answered, smirking and leaning against the wall.

"What do you want with me?" her eyes glared daggers at him. "I'm asking you; what do you want with me? Why are you keeping me here? You don't have Pandora's Box. There's absolutely nothing you can take from me." The girl stared at him defiantly.

The playful look in Luke's eyes faded. "If there's any chance that you would join me… then I would take it."

"You know I never will," Thalia answered automatically. But now she wasn't so sure. _If you can't beat them, join them_, a small part of her brain murmured. But however small, it made Thalia doubt and question herself if she was really, truly invulnerable to him.

"I beg your pardon, Your Worship," Luke drawled. "But do you remember those years when you and I-" (Thalia didn't like the way he said that) "-were on the run? I can see through your mask perfectly. You doubt yourself, and you're starting to reconsider."

"No," she stated. "You betrayed all of us, long ago."

"I did it for you," he answered, leaning towards her until they were almost touching.

Thalia's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything.

"Gods, your hair smells nice," Luke breathed, touching Thalia's cheeks briefly.

Thalia couldn't control herself. Her pulse raced as he traced the shape of her lips. "What are you trying to do?"

"Thalia?"

"Jason. Thought you'll never call." The daughter of Zeus leant into the Iris-Message. "I need your location, fast."

"Okay. We're in Russia, in the underground tunnels. Could you get there?"

"No," Thalia answered truthfully. "But still, you have to stop the monsters from destroying the world. Have you found the mortals yet?"

"Rachel's got a few leads, but, no," Jason admitted. "See you later, sister."

Thalia nodded, gave him a forced smile as he slashed through the connection.

"So what was the Iris-Message about?" Luke's calm voice came from the shadows.

Thalia spun around. "That's none of your business," she answered quickly.

"So your demigods are in Russia, huh?" Luke drawled lazily. "I could just send Nakamura back there and check out your half-bloods. In the underground tunnels, aren't they?"

Pure fear and terror took over her, and Thalia felt sick.

"I- you wouldn't." Thalia glared at him. She wanted to retch.

"Of course I will." Luke pressed a button on the wall. "It's done."

Thalia snarled wildly at him, throwing a punch in his direction. He simply blocked her.

"Thalia," Luke chided, "Behave yourself."

"Pigainete sta Tartara," she hissed.

_Fifteen minutes later_

"Piper!" Jason struggled to sit up from the debris. "Will? Clarisse?"

Nico emerged from the dirt. "I'm here," he gasped. "Not sure about the others."

Dread filled Jason. Perhaps Thalia was cooperating with Luke…? _No_. He shoved the thought out of his head. Thalia wouldn't do that. But it had been ten seconds did the bombing happen after the Iris-Message with his sister…

Jason swallowed. "We better start digging."

"Lacy's gone, Mitchell's gone, Kayla's gone," Nico reported, a strange emotion in his eyes. "Mark's gone, Sherman's gone. Piper's going to die if we don't get her out of this mess."

"Where is she?" Jason asked urgently.

Nico pointed down grimly. "Fifteen feet under."

Jason's heart sank like a heavy stone.

_One day later_

"We've got Chris, Clarisse, Clovis, Leo, Lou, Katie, Malcolm, Piper, Pollux, Will, you and you," Rachel muttered. "The others are dead. Now, since Luke already knows where we are, let's go find him."

"Rachel, are you sure?" Jason asked.

The red haired mortal considered. She knew how the end was going to be. _And so be it_, she decided.

"Yes, I'm sure."


	28. Chapter Twenty Nine

_Success is the best revenge._

**-Thalia Grace**

"Thalia, I'm going to ask you, one last time." Luke's angelic voice was soft and cold as he fingered the knife at his belt. "Are you joining me?"

Thalia shut her eyes.

Three months ago, she, of course, was going to decline. But now…

"Never," she said. But her tone was unsure.

"Remember. This it all of your choices," Luke said, his tone steely as he showed her a hologram of the world.

"Pangaea," he announced, running a finger over the screen. "The only island in the water."

He swiped at the picture and another one replaced it. "This is what the world looks like now."

"All animals are extinct except for the sacred animals of the gods: eagles, horses, cuckoos, serpents, swans, owls, doves, tortoises, donkeys and leopards. What have you got to say about that?"

"What about my demigods?"

"They wouldn't live to see the next Great Prophecy happen," Luke said. "But if you surrender…"

He let his voice trail off, into a deep pit of dark temptation.

"As you can see, Nakamura has put tracking devices on your half-bloods," Luke adjusted the screen so it showed little red dots clustered together in the map of Earth. "You can surrender, or in fifteen seconds…" his finger hovered over a dot that said Chris Rodriguez. "Chris and a few others die."

"Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven…"

Thalia didn't move from her spot. Luke wouldn't really do that, she thought. He'd known Clarisse for eight years.

"Three… two… one…"

With no hesitation, the boy in front of Thalia jabbed at Chris Rodriguez.

The red dot flashed a sudden orange and disappeared. The other dots scattered frantically from the spot, and slowly crept back to Chris' body.

Seeming to laugh, Luke then touched the dot that said Clarisse La Rue and the dot Clovis.

They shuddered and the two signals faded away. Thalia leapt up in horror, unable to believe what she just saw.

"Luke, please," she only said. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want you to surrender," Luke answered coolly. "I've told you that many times, Thalia, and you've been as selfish as ever, allowing others to be hurt. So surrender, and I promise you that I wouldn't touch the others anymore."

With a sinking sensation in her stomach, the daughter of Zeus realized that Luke was right.

"I…" she couldn't form the words.


	29. Epilogue

Epilogue: _Five years later_

**Lacy**

The haunting- yet beautiful- _empousai_ threw the girl into the room.

"Another rebel," Kelli's high, girly laugh echoed through the chamber. "And probably the last one."

"A little child," Tammi giggled along with Kelli. "Hmm…"

Shame overwhelmed her.

Lacy had evaded them for five years, three months, six days and twelve hours.

But now she was going to die.

**Thalia**

_Master will be happy if Mistress kills the little girl-_

_ You are our saving Grace, milady, so kill the girl now-_

"Fell out of love already, didn't you?"

Lacy's cold voice cut out harsher than the rest in my head.

The voices paused, and then started chattering again.

_My, this last one's particularly nasty-_

_ Worst than little Miranda- thorns all over the throne for a week-_

_ Milady, is that true? You do not love him now?_

Thalia took a deep breath.

"Good afternoon, Lacy."

"I don't suppose I say goodbye, then."

Thalia winced as Tammi slapped the Aphrodite girl- but Lacy didn't flinch at all, even as a red wheal appeared on her left cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Lacy."

"I'm sure you're not," the girl stared up to Thalia with an angry- but thoughtful- expression on her face. "Why should you be? Canoodling half-heartedly with Luke Castellan all day- now, who wouldn't want that?"

Thalia flinched. Kelli snarled, her hand reaching for her sword.

"Shall I kill her, mistress?"

Thalia turned around with a pained expression on my face. She was going to die anyway- the sooner the better.

Lacy's screams echoed in her ears.

**Author's Note**

And that was the end of _Darkest Mercy_.

I have written this story to see if the Luke/Thalia can go through a happy relationship. So basically this was an experiment, and the epilogue is the conclusion: NO. BIG, BIG, **_NO_**.

So that was unfortunate, but all Luke/Thalia FanFictions exist just for this purpose: SADNESS.


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